Jermyn was founded in 1902, making it one of the final villages constructed in Jack County. It was named for J. J. Jermyn, the son of coalmagnate Joe Jermyn of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Oliver Loving and W. P. Stewart, ranchers in Jack County, gave the town property. On October 21, 1909, the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad's tracks arrived at the hamlet. There were a few shops, a bank, a church, and an estimated 213 people living in Jermyn in the 1920s. After that, it functioned as a hub for the local cattle industry and a shipping port. The town's population rose to 1,066 in 1968 but then started to fall. It was 75 in 1990 and 2000.[2]