St. Jo, TX

Saint Jo sits near the Red River in northern Montague County, where the Elm Fork of the Trinity begins its run and the old cattle routes once pointed north. The town began as Head of Elm, then took the Saint Jo name when its boundaries were surveyed in the 1870s. In the late nineteenth century, trail drivers could make Saint Jo their last Texas stop before crossing the Red River, a detail that fits the town's unusually strong western character. The historic square keeps that story close, with the Stonewall Saloon standing as the first permanent building raised in the town in 1873.

The Stonewall Saloon Museum now operates in that building, using an authentic saloon setting and volunteer-led tours to tell Saint Jo's story. Saint Jo ISD adds a present-day center of gravity, with school events and an all-weather track project appearing in the town's calendar. Around the square, Main Street, ranch roads, open fields, and wooded draws make the town feel connected to both the Red River valley and the North Texas Hill Country. Saint Jo is small, but its layers are unusually legible: headwaters, cattle trails, a preserved saloon, and a school district still shaping the week.