Editing Jasper, Texas (section)

==History==

===19th century===
The area, which was then part of [[Mexican Texas]], was settled around 1824 by John Bevil. Thirty families occupied the settlement as early as 1830, when it was known as "Snow River", after John R. Bevil, a hero of the [[American Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hfj02 |title= Jasper Texas |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |access-date= October 3, 2012}}</ref>

In 1835, the town was renamed after [[William Jasper]], a soldier from the American Revolution, who was killed attempting to plant the American flag at the storming of [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] in 1779.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TSHA &#124; Jasper, TX|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/jasper-tx|access-date=2021-11-26|website=www.tshaonline.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=26603 |title= Profile for Jasper, Texas, TX |publisher= ePodunk |access-date= October 3, 2012 |archive-date= February 9, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130209190734/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=26603 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Jasper was one of the 23 original counties when the [[Republic of Texas]] was created in 1836.<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Jasper, Texas |url=http://www.jaspertx.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=38 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031132251/http://jaspertx.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=38 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-10-31}}</ref> Jasper became the county seat in 1844 and became part of the United States with the [[Texas annexation|annexation of Texas]] in 1845.

[[File:Jasper County Courthouse.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Jasper County Courthouse (Texas)|Jasper County Courthouse]], January 2011]]
During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the town housed a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] quartermaster depot and served as a major center for Confederate communication, transportation, and supply. Jasper was a Confederate Army headquarters for a nine-county area. Following the war, Union troops led by [[George Armstrong Custer|General George Custer]] occupied Jasper, camping in the town square.

Educational institutions included the Jasper Male and Female High School, which operated until 1878, when it became the Southeast Texas Male and Female College, and Jasper Collegiate Institute, which operated from 1851 until 1874. The population declined to 360 in 1870, reflecting the hardships of the Civil War, but by 1885 had risen to 1,000.

In 1896, Jasper had a population of 1,200. With the arrival of the [[Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway]] early in the 20th century, Jasper grew into a center for the manufacture of timber products. Lumber from two sawmills, with a daily capacity of {{convert|125,000|board feet|m3}}, goods from basket and stave factories, logs, ties, poles, and pulpwood were shipped in 200 cars per month.

===20th century===
In 1901, the town of Jasper was robbed. The post office safe and the county treasurer's safe were blown open and robbed. The thieves set a fire, and as the town had no fire department, the entire town was completely destroyed. Damages were estimated at $100,000. What was stolen from the safes was unknown. The thieves escaped.<ref name="Hocking">{{cite news|last1=Green|first1=Lewis|title=Texas Town Burned by Robbers|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038119/1901-06-06/ed-1/seq-2/|access-date=16 December 2017|agency=The Hocking Sentinel|date=June 1901}}</ref>

Jasper served as headquarters for the [[Lower Neches Valley Authority]]'s construction program, including Dam "B" at Town Bluff and engineering and surveying for a dam at Magee Bend on the [[Angelina River]]. Local farmers raised broiler chickens and beef, and in the 1950s turned to dairying. Jasper also became the headquarters of the [[Morgan and Lindsey]] chain of [[variety store]]s (otherwise known as dime-stores), which at one time operated 85 outlets in Texas, [[Arkansas]], [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], and [[Alabama]].

In June 1998, the [[murder of James Byrd Jr.]] catapulted Jasper into national news and led to the creation of the [[Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act]]. Three men—John William King, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and Shawn Berry—were tried and convicted of capital murder. King and Brewer received the [[death penalty]], while Berry, who was the only suspect who cooperated during the investigation and implicated King and Brewer, was sentenced to life in prison. Brewer was executed on September 21, 2011. King was executed on April 24, 2019.

===21st century===
In 2000, Jasper had 8,247 residents and around 250 businesses.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US4837420&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=jasper&_cityTown=jasper&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= |title=Jasper city, Texas – Population Finder – American FactFinder<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317040034/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US4837420&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=jasper&_cityTown=jasper&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= |archive-date=2008-03-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Jasper was one of the primary locations for the recovery of the [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] wreckage in February 2003.

Jasper was greatly affected by [[Hurricane Rita]] on September 25, 2005, as it moved inland. The city suffered considerable damage and was left without power or potable water for about three and a half weeks.

The Jasper Arboretum Project began in 2000, and the Outdoor Learning Center was added in 2012 to create {{convert|14|acre}} of public gardens, walking trails, a master gardener greenhouse, and a nature classroom.<ref>{{ cite web
|title=Arboretum and Outdoor Learning Center
|url=http://jasper.agrilife.org/jasper-arboretum-project/
|author=Jasper AgriLife Extension Service}}</ref>

In 2012, Jasper returned to national attention during a bitterly fought political feud over the hiring and firing of Jasper's first black police chief, Rodney Pearson.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stahl|first=Lori|date=2012-06-15|title=Racial tension still an issue in Jasper, Texas|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/racial-tension-still-an-issue-in-jasper-texas/2012/06/15/gJQAYOtbfV_blog.html|access-date=2021-11-26|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en-US}}</ref> To fire Pearson, two black city council members were recalled in the narrowly divided city.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/us/in-jasper-texas-racial-tensions-flare-again.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title = Racial Tensions Flare Anew in a Texas Town|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 22 June 2012|last1 = Fernandez|first1 = Manny}}</ref> Free of [[Voting Rights Act of 1965#Preclearance requirement|Voting Rights Act preclearance requirements]], Jasper is moving to annex largely white suburbs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/why-the-voting-rights-act-still-matters/373541/|title = Jasper, Texas, Shows Why the Voting Rights Act Still Matters|website = [[The Atlantic]]|date = 26 June 2014}}</ref> The feud highlighted Jasper's persistent struggle with [[racism in the United States|racism]] throughout its history.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/us/in-jasper-texas-racial-tensions-flare-again.html |title=In Jasper, Texas, Racial Tensions Flare Again |last=Fernandez |first=Manny |date=2012-06-21 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2017-04-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On [[Hurricane Beryl tornado outbreak|July 8, 2024]], the western part of Jasper was struck by a low-end EF2 tornado that was spawned by the outer bands of [[Hurricane Beryl]]. Many trees, power poles, and structures were damaged, and one person was injured.<ref name="DAT">{{Cite web |last1=Branches of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |last2=National Weather Service |last3=National Severe Storms Laboratory |date=2024 |title=Damage Assessment Toolkit |url=https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/stormdamage/damageviewer/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=DAT |publisher=[[United States Department of Commerce]] |author2-link=National Weather Service |author3-link=National Severe Storms Laboratory }}</ref><ref>{{cite report|author=National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana|title=NWS Damage Survey for 07/08/2024 Tornado Event|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSLCH&e=202407092026|publisher=National Weather Service|date=July 9, 2024|access-date=July 9, 2024}}</ref>