History of Telegraph Service in Texas

By Murray Montgomery - Staff

murray.montgomery@lavacacountytoday.com

Not long ago, I wrote a column about the history of telephones in Texas. Because that column was well received, I decided to follow up with this piece about an earlier form of communication in Texas – the Telegraph.

The age of instant communication was born on January 11, 1838, in Morristown, New Jersey. It was on that day that Samuel Morse and Alfred Vale first demonstrated the electric telegraph. 

In 1843, Morse and Vail received funding from the U.S. Congress to set up and test their telegraph system between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. On May 24, 1844, Morse sent Vail the historic first message: “What hath God wrought!” The telegraph system subsequently spread across America and the world, aided by further innovations. 

According to the Handbook of Texas, a new country was offered the telegraph service not long after it was created. Morris offered his invention to the Republic of Texas in 1838, but when he never received a reply from the new nation, he withdrew his offer. 

The same source provides this information: “The use of the telegraph for communication in Texas, which preceded the railroads and telephone as a national network, began with the chartering of the Texas and Red River Telegraph Company on January 5, 1854.”

Research about the telegraph and trying to find out when it came to Lavaca County, was as difficult as the research I did for the telephone column. Just like the old saying, “hard as pulling hen’s teeth” – that’s just the way it was. 

I did find some information about telegraph service coming to Morales. As a matter of fact, the telegraph was located in the Morales Store. For those who don’t know, Morales is on State Highway 111 in northwestern Jackson County, and from what I’ve been told, they make some of the best hamburgers that you can find anywhere, but I digress. 

Anyway, the telegraph came to Morales in 1870, and considering that the little place isn’t far from Lavaca County, I figured the telegraph probably came here around the same time – mere speculation on my part. 

I also found another source. The following was written by I.T. Taylor: “This [Morales Store] telegraph office was the first in Jackson County, the wires being strung in 1870 between Columbus and Victoria. Morales was the only station between these cities. Mr. Spruce owned the first telegraph office and his half-brother, Mr. Gerrard was the first operator.” This information is on a Jackson County website – just Google Jackson County and Morales Store. They also have an active Facebook page.

In closing, I want to share this from the Handbook of Texas: “By 1870 there was an estimated 1,500 miles of telegraph wire in Texas, and in 1874 Western Union owned eighty-nine of the 105 telegraph offices statewide.”

It seems like that “1870” number is kind of close to the information about Morales Store. Whatever, that’s all I’ve got.