Gail, Texas

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Gail is located on U.S. Highway 180 in central Borden County.

History

Gail was named for Gail Borden, Jr., when it was selected county seat in 1891. It experienced a land boom in 1903 when five sections of state land were sold. The War of Ribbons, in which ranchers wore blue ribbons on their sleeves and new settlers wore red, followed in 1903 without bloodshed, and Gail and the county grew in population as farmers took up land. Despite being a county seat, the community remained small, and the county population sparse. The estimated population in Gail in 1910 was 700, and in 1912 it was 600. By 1936, because of the Gread Depression and changes in agricultural patterns, Gail had declined to 250. In 1980 its population was only 189 in a total reported county population of 859. Gail during the 1980s had a county museum, a grade school, a high school, and a cafe. In the early 1990s Gail was still the county seat and reported a population of 202, served by eight businesses. In 2000 the population was 189.

Gail Cemetery. Borden County, created in 1876, was organized in 1891, the same year the town of Gail was established as county seat. The next year, J.I. and L.E. Wilborn gave land for the courthouse square and three churches, and dedicated Block 18 of the townsite for a burial ground. The cemetery had been used as early as March 1891 for the burial of Fetnah Alexander. At least nine unmarked graves exist, some of which may be earlier. In January 1901, J.I. Wilborn officially deeded the tract to trustees for the county-operated cemetery. Buried here are many county officials, including Sid Reeder and his wife, Iva, who both served as county sheriff. Others interred here include veterans of military conflicts dating to the Civil War, three of the original cemetery trustees, and John Henry Smoot, a stonemason who built the foundation and vault for the courthouse, and carved many of the cemetery's early grave markers. The Borden County Cemetery Association and Commissioners Court maintain the burial ground, and family members and others donate time and funds to preserve this tie to their local and family history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003. - Historical Marker Text. Located 732 E. Kincaid, Gail.