In 1909, Jourdan Campbell (1867-1938) and Theodore H. Zanderson (1854-1927) established the Jourdanton community on the eastern edge of their Toby Ranch property and named it for Campbell. Campbell, born in Atascosa County, was a merchant and county commissioner, and he met Zanderson, a Dane with major wool and mohair business interests, in San Antonio. They persuaded Dr. Charles Franklin Simmons, a land speculator who had previously worked with Campbell, to lay rail through the new townsite, and the first train came through Jourdanton on September 4, 1909. The town soon had utilities, a bank, a newspaper called The Atascosa Monitor, a post office, several businesses, a school, several churches, and a cemetery. Encouraged by the settlement's rapid growth and led by newspaper owner Ralph Roy "Railroad" Smith, residents promoted Jourdanton as county seat, and in 1910 Atascosa County voters moved the county seat from Pleasanton to Jourdanton. The town incorporated in 1911, and by 1914 it had two railroads and a population that had doubled. Many residents were farmers or ranchers. By the 1940s, nearby oil and natural gas discoveries brought another period of growth, and later the discovery and mining of lignite to the south also helped sustain the economy. Jourdanton grew further with the addition of the Smith Village and Atascosa Estates developments. Although the railroads stopped running by the 1960s, Jourdanton continued to grow and remains a community rich in culture, heritage, and diversity.