Thurber, known for bricks and coal, was once the largest city between Fort Worth and El Paso. It was also the first Texas city to have electricity and refrigeration. (there is a story about how shocked and even angry Stephenville residents were on hearing that ice could be produced in the summer). From Thurber shale, 40 varieties of bricks were manufactured and sold state wide. During the 1920s and 1930s the paving bricks were the most popular and were used to pave hundreds of miles of Texas Highways. The brick streets in Stephenville were paved by work gangs largely made up of “Persons who were dellinquent in water bill payments.” Texas Municipalities, 22 (November, 1935), no. 11, and other research.