Southeast Texas-Saratoga: George Jones birthplace and marker

George Jones grew up in the rural communities of Southeast Texas, amid the towering pines and wetlands. He was born in a log cabin on Sept. 12, 1931, in Saratoga, a small town located on the edge of the Big Thicket National Preserve in Hardin County.

Childhood and Early Life

• George Jones spent his early childhood in Saratoga, a community with a logging, oil and railroad history. But his family moved around the region during his youth, living in various locations in East Texas. Eventually, Jones’ family settled in Beaumont, where he spent a significant portion of his youth.
• George’s father, George Washington Jones, was a truck driver and a heavy drinker. Jones experienced a tumultuous family life, even though his mother, Clara Patterson Jones, was deeply religious and did her best to care for George and his siblings. George was one of eight children, and the large family often struggled financially.
• George Jones did not have a formal or extended education. He dropped out of school in his early teens to focus on his music interests. From a young age, he sang and played guitar in the streets of Beaumont.
• He was highly influenced by the gospel and country music he heard on the radio, and by the time he was a teenager, he was performing in local honky tonks and bars.

George Jones Memorial Marker

• Location: Near the intersection of SH 326 and FM 770, Saratoga, Texas 77585.
• Significance: The marker acknowledges Jones as one of the greatest country music singers of all time, celebrating his influence on the genre and his beginnings in the small town of Saratoga.

Read More:

• George Jones on Ancestry.com

George Jones obit 27 Apr 2013, Sat Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas) Newspapers.com