Jones County was the site of the Emigrant Trail, the Frontier Military Road, and Fort Phantom Hill, which was founded in 1851 to guard the military road. The county was created in 1858 from Bexar and Bosque counties and was named for Anson Jones (1798–1858), a veteran of San Jacinto, Minister to the U.S., Secretary of State, and last president of the Texas Republic. Phantom Hill served as a Butterfield Overland Mail station from 1858 to 1861 and as a Civil War patrol point from 1861 to 1865, attempting to curb frontier raids by Indians. The county was recreated in 1876 and organized in 1881. Anson, at first called Jones City, is the county seat.