Thurber was a coal mining town founded in 1888 by the Texas and Pacific Coal Company.  The town was situated upon Texas' only known deposit of bituminous coal.  The coal was used to fuel the locomotives on the nearby Texas and Pacific Railroad.( The railroad and the coal mining company were separate companies.)  At its height, Thurber had a population in excess of 10,000.  Immigrants came from around the world to work in the mines.  The entire town was owned by the company and was one of the first cities in the world to be fully electrified. In its day, Thurber was considered a model town. 

A brick plant was also opened at the site.  Around Fort Worth, one can occasionally find an old loose brick with "Thurber" embedded in the back.  The bricks on Fort Worth's Camp Bowie Boulevard were made in Thurber.

The beginning of the end for Thurber came when railroads began to convert from coal to oil burning locomotives. In 1917 the Ranger oil field was discovered  20 miles to the west.  In 1921, the last of the Thurber mines closed down.  The brick plant closed down in 1930.  A few years later the company moved or demolished most of the town's structures.

The ruins of the business district are on the north side of Interstate 20.  The towering smokestack from the town's electric plant is noticeable from the highway.  The original town, however extended to the area that is now on both sides of the highway.  If you visit, be sure turn down the east bound service road and follow the signs to the top of New York Hill.  A restaurant now operates atop the hill.  At the edge of the parking lot overlooking the town site are some markers explaining the town's history.  One shows a sketch of what the town looked like.  Traveling  a bit further east on the access road one will see an old  storage silo that is still standing  as well as  Lake Thurber which  served as the town's water supply.
 
 

This was the smokestack from Thurber's electric plant.  Thurber was one of the first cities in the world to be fully electrified.

 
 
 
 
 

This was one of Thurber's commercial structures.  Until it was destroyed by fire a few years ago it served as a restaurant.  It has been subsequently demolished. 

After the fire, the restaurant opened up in another building across the street

There are abandoned coal mines throughout the area.  My guess is that this opening in the ground is some sort of air shaft.

The volunteer fire station at Thurber