Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Bryson Bryson, TX

Bryson is a small city in western Jack County, about 14 miles southwest of Jacksboro, the county seat, along U.S. Highway 380.

Bryson was originally known as Mount Hecla, where a post office opened in 1878 — the same year Henry Bryson built the area's first residence, a log cabin.

The community was renamed in honor of Henry Bryson, who later became a county commissioner, and the name change was officially recognized in 1884 when the post office took the name Bryson.

The Chicago, Rock Island and Texas Railway reached Bryson in the fall of 1902.

Although oil was discovered in Jack County as early as 1898, Bryson did not become an oil processing center for local producers until the mid-1920s, and the resulting boom made it known as Jack County's 'second city' after Jacksboro.

A second oil boom hit Bryson in 1938, when the influx of people was so great that many newcomers were forced to live in tents.

Bryson incorporated with a mayor-council form of government on June 6, 1929.

Bryson's population peaked at 806 in the 1940 census and fell to a low point of 455 in 1970 as oil production declined.

Bryson had 430 residents at the 2020 census, living in 180 households, with 211 housing units in the city.

Part of Bryson's mapped area is water: the city limits take in a portion of Lake Bryson, a reservoir about 2.5 miles northwest of town.