Jones Mill Post Office changed its name to Frisco City 94 years ago

Way before daylight on Monday morning, I had to stop at the post office in Frisco City to mail off a bill. It was about 10 minutes after five in the morning, and no one else was stirring on Church Street. I pulled right up to the front door, hopped out, ran inside, dropped the bill into the outgoing mail slot and was back in the truck in less than 30 seconds.

As I drove on to work, my thoughts drifted to the history of Frisco City and its post office, and it occurred to me that the town changed its name to Frisco City almost a century ago. In fact, yesterday – Dec. 1 – marked 94 years since the Jones Mill Post Office officially changed its name to the Frisco City Post Office on Dec. 1, 1928. This move came after the town’s citizens voted in favor of the change on Sept. 17, 1928.

News of that vote was reported on the front page of the Sept. 27, 1928 edition of The Monroe Journal under the headline, “IT IS FRISCO CITY.” According to that story, “by a vote of 153 to 50, the citizens of Jones Mill decided to change the name of their town to Frisco City in an election held on Sept. 17. Several years ago, the name ‘Roy’ was substituted for that of Jones Mill, but the name failed to stick due to some irregularity in the proceedings.”

Also, in the Sept. 17 election, it was reported that T.I. Springer had been elected mayor while J. Driscoll, F.L. Hanks, J.T. Lee, D.L. Long and W.M. Williams were elected to the town council. Back then, municipal officials in the town only served one-year terms in office.

The reference to the town once being called “Roy” is noteworthy because it harkens back to the town’s early promotion of the Gulf, Florida & Atlantic Railroad, which was put down through the town and was expected to result in a huge economic boom for the area. The president of that railroad was none other than Roy Chester Megargel of New York City. South Monroe County citizens literally put Roy Megargel’s name on the map by renaming Jones Mill and at the same time designating a rail stop called “Megargel” a few miles south of the town.

The Gulf, Florida & Atlantic Railroad later became part of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, which was commonly known as the “Frisco.” To further promote the railroad, the citizens of Jones Mill, who apparently didn’t like “Roy” very much, voted to change the name to Frisco City. Not only did this result in a change to the name of the town’s post office, but Jones Mill High School became Frisco City High School almost overnight.

Interestingly, the state of Texas also boasts of towns named both Frisco and Megargel. They also take their names from the Frisco Railroad and the late, great Roy C. Megargel.