The Texas Legislature created Jack County from Cook County on August 14, 1856. Jack County was named after William H. and Patrick C. Jack, brothers and patriots of the Texas Revolution. An act of the legislature on February 6, 1858, made Mesquiteville the legal seat of justice of Jack County, under the name of Jacksboro.

Jacksboro, Texas is recognized not only for the famous Goodnight and Loving Trails, but also for the fact that the Butterfield Overland Mail Route ran through the town from 1856 till 1861, connecting St. Louis to San Francisco.

Jacksboro, located in one of the few Texas counties to vote against secession, was the most westward settlement still standing in Texas after the Civil War. It had been devastated by Indian raids and consisted of fewer than a dozen ramshackle buildings, most in ruins. In 1870 the completion of Fort Richardson just south of the town made the site safe for settlers. The population of the Jack County seat increased to several hundred and the town became established as the trading center for the county. Jacksboro received national publicity in 1871 when the Kiowa chiefs Santanta and Big Tree were tried for murder in the district court here. The town had three flour mills, a brickyard, a cotton gin, two churches, a school and a newspaper, the Jacksboro Frontier Echo.

The arrival of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad in 1898, followed by the Gulf, Texas and Western in 1910 made Jacksboro the principal shipping point for Jack County farmers and ranchers. The construction of a series of farm roads, combined with the completion of U.S. Highways 281 and 380, enhanced Jacksboro’s commercial position. The discovery of oil in the nearby communities of Antelope and Bryson in the 1920’s helped to diversify the local economy by adding oil-well servicing to agribusiness.

The community supports a number of churches, public schools, popular fishing and swimming spots, Fort Richardson State Park, Jack County Museum and various events throughout the year.