Thurber was the most important mine site in Texas for 30 years. Coal here, probably known to Indians, was “discovered” in 1886 by W.W. Johnson, who with his brother Harvey sold out to Texas & Pacific Coal Company in 1888. The T.&P. Coal Company provided fuel for the Texas & Pacific Railroad but was independently owned. The town was named for H.K. Thurber, a friend of the coal company’s founders. Its most dynamic firm member was Robert D. Hunter (1833-1902), who developed 7 of 15 mines. The next president was E.L. Marston, Hunter’s son-in-law, who left mining largely to William K. Gordon, an engineer who brought daily production to 3,000 tons. In 1917, Gordon, backed by management of the coal company, was primarily responsible for the discovery of the Ranger oil field 20 miles west. Adoption of oil-burning railway locomotives cut demand for coal. The last mine here closed in 1921, and Thurber’s 10,000 or more inhabitants began to move away. The coal firm changed its name to Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company and was sold in 1963 to Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., for $277,000,000.00. Renamed Texas Pacific Oil Company, it became one of the largest domestic energy suppliers. By estimate, 127,000,000 tons of coal remained underground.