Robert Jetton

Robert's glowing report of Buffalo being a promising railroad town, having a large cotton market and shipping point and that the soil could grow anything, and also the open range where you could have the best ranching, brought many people to this area.  An enormous number of people loaded their wagons with all their possessions and most of them, with their faith in God, made their long journeys, battling cold, rain, heat, insects, sickness, Indians, outlaws, crossing rivers, doing repair work to their wagons, and clearing pathways as they pushed their way to the new Buffalo, Leon Co.

Once they got here, the new settlers got busy building homes, businesses, churches, and schools.  Robert Jetton was instrumental in bringing thousands of these new immigrants to Buffalo and other communities in Leon Co.  Buffalo was a center point of Texas and the railroad enterprise.

Robert was so taken by Buffalo he owned a home and property in Buffalo.  The house still stands.   It has gone through changes and improvements.  It is located across the railroad track on Hwy 79, near the Lyon Hotel. The Jetton home place is a treasured historical landmark, a reminder of the vital role of the Jetton era, that began the establishment of Buffalo.

Robert's published articles continued to report great things of the Buffalo town.  His words plus other quotes he used from the residents brought many other new people to the area.

J. T O'Glenn from Alabama told that the farm land was so productive he wouldn't trade his Buffalo, Leon Co., farm for the whole state of Alabama.

A. R. Hartley arrived in Buffalo without a nickel.  With the good graces of God and the township leaders trusting him, he was able to get a loan and grew the finest Irish potatoes and tomatoes he had ever seen.  He was bestowed with a bountiful harvest, reaped a good living, and made a good profit.  Within a short time, Hartley owned 700 acres of land, all paid for.  He owned cattle and hogs and farmed many more productive crops and fruit orchards.  It supplied his household with a bounty of peaches, pears, apples, apricots, grapes and plums.  He shared them with others and was very successful in selling them at the public market.

Hartley was quoted as saying he went back to his homeplace in North Carolina and it looked awful compared to Buffalo.

S. W. Robinson, an ex-sheriff, spoke of raising the best Red Poll cattle with the lush grass.

Barney Pearlstone's words were "Good people of Buffalo who mean business of an established town suited for moral and family living, will be welcomed and treated right.  All of us together will develop this special town, the best of Texas."

Robert Jetton was the first editor of The Buffalo Banner newspaper.  He set the original plans of a Buffalo town site that would connect Leon Co. to Texarkana, Laredo, and to the northern states of the USA and on westward with connections to accommodate the world trade system.

In 1872, the last spike of the I&GN Railroad was completed, and this was the last division of the railroad to establish Buffalo as the American Venture town.  This took place near the west bank of Buffalo Creek, about four miles east of Buffalo.  This was a great history making milestone, hailed throughout the nation.  It was completed without a band playing, no official authorized celebration, no replicas of the first spike was made or saved for this grand event.  The driving of this spike completed the longest railroad line in the United States, entirely within one state, our Texas and our Buffalo, Leon County.

This one spike went unnoticed, yet this one spike changed the town of Buffalo and thousands of peoples lives forever.

Soon Buffalo was incorporated of thirty blocks with the railroad as the central town site.  A railway station was built along the main line, on the east side of Center Street.  This was the first developed construction that brought great changes.  Experienced railroad men and non-experienced men, with their families poured into Buffalo.  Huge crowds of people from all walks of life came from many different places.  Doctors, lawyers, businessmen of all kinds and their families came to see what they considered a fine town.  They stayed and became Buffalo citizens.  The town soon grew into a large town.

Robert Jetton's final published article of The Buffalo Banner stated that Buffalo was a fine town with fine people, fine churches, a fine school, a fine distribution of businesses with fine professional gentlemen.  Big expectations are in the future of Buffalo for the city and the surrounding country.

Robert Jetton and his family were very prominent leaders in Buffalo for many decades.

Robert later owned and operated another Buffalo newspaper, the Buffalo Oracle and in 1915 he was owner/operator of the Oakwood Oracle a weekly newspaper in Oakwood.  He along with his family lived in Oakwood and are credited with helping in the organization of Oakwood becoming a booming pioneer town.

Robert was author/publisher of a well known Leon Co. book, "Sue Ella", written in honor of his grand-daughter.

Robert Jetton established a remarkable era of our history.