Good morning, Justin and neighbors!

Fall Has Officially Entered the Chat

Well, here we are. The calendar says fall, football is everywhere, homecoming season is about to take over the town, and the stores are doing their annual “How many pumpkins can we possibly fit in one aisle?” experiment.

The temperatures may still be acting like they have a personal grudge against autumn, but around here, fall is definitely happening whether the weather got the message or not.

There’s plenty to catch up on this week, from Justin’s new tax rate to homecoming plans, a few businesses making moves around town and, of course, enough things to do that staying home all weekend is going to start feeling like a missed opportunity.

So grab your caffeine of choice, check the football schedule and let's get into it.

Sometimes local history is hiding right beneath our feet.

A Justin Journal reader who is a member of the Cowtown Treasure Hunters Club reached out to tell us about the group and their work. The state- and federally licensed nonprofit helps law enforcement locate items, assists citizens in recovering lost valuables, and searches historic properties for items that offer a glimpse into the past.

Members have even helped recover historical artifacts from an old Central Texas town that was soon to be flooded for a lake. They also occasionally teach kids about metal detecting and hold monthly meetings to share their latest finds.

Unfortunately, many older properties are disappearing as neighborhoods and businesses make way for new development, making places to explore harder to find.

Do you know of an old property, former homesite, farmstead or other location that might be worth exploring? The club is interested in respectful group hunts and may be able to help with lost items or historical discoveries.

They take care to leave properties looking the way they found them, fill their holes and remove any trash they uncover.

If you know of a property that might be a good prospect email us at [email protected].

There was some actual grown-up city business happening at Thursday night's City Council meeting, and this one affects pretty much everyone who owns property in Justin.

The City Council approved the FY 2026–27 budget and adopted a new property tax rate of $0.641816 per $100 of assessed valuation, down from the current $0.67 rate.

The new rate is the City's No-New-Revenue Tax Rate, which is designed to generate approximately the same amount of property tax revenue from properties that were taxed in both the current and previous year.

The approved budget also uses $280,000 from the City's fund balance to help balance the budget. According to the City, even after that allocation, the fund balance remains within the reserve threshold established by City policy.

So, in slightly less government-speak:

Justin's tax rate is going down, the budget is approved, and the City says its reserves remain within its established policy.

We'll take that over having to explain another 47-page budget document before breakfast. However, if you want to check out the information yourself it’s all posted on the City of Justin’s website.

If you've got a Northwest High School student, you probably already know this.

For everyone else, consider this your warning: homecoming week is coming.

Northwest High School's Homecoming Parade is Wednesday, September 23, beginning at 6:15 p.m. The parade will travel along Texas Drive before ending at Northwest ISD Stadium, where a community pep rally and fireworks will follow.

Then Friday night, it's game time.

The Northwest Texans take on Keller Timber Creek at 7 p.m. on September 25, with homecoming royalty being recognized at halftime.

So expect football jerseys, mums, glitter, traffic, proud parents and at least one person who has apparently decided that a homecoming mum should be approximately the size of a small child.

That's Texas. We don't do subtle.

More Homecoming dates and information

We're always looking for local business news to share with our readers. New businesses, expansions, new owners, special events, interesting stories, milestones and other things happening around town are all fair game.

Know something we should know about? Send it our way at [email protected].

And if you're a local business owner who wants to introduce your business to our readers, we have advertising and feature opportunities available, too.

Looking for something fun to do this fall? We’ve been creating quite the list. Check it out and of course let us know if we missed any.

Tuesday~ Sep 22

Wednesday~ Sep 23

Thursday~ Sep 24

Friday~ Sep 25

Saturday~ Sep 26

Submit Your Event Here

As we continue our conversation about Justin Day on October 4, we're taking a look at one of the men who played an important role when our town officially became Justin — our first postmaster.

John W. Berry wasn't only Justin's first official postmaster. He was also the man who opened the first store in Justin, opening a general store on Christmas Day in 1883.

Then, on May 2, 1887, Berry became the postmaster of Justine. At the time, having an established post office was a major step toward putting a community on the map in Texas.

Berry's time in the history books gets a little harder to follow after about 1888, when Willard Daggett took over the postmaster duties for the growing community.

We were able to find an affidavit that fills in a few more pieces of Berry's story. It states that he and his first wife, Mollie Goldman, were married in 1892 and later divorced in Denton in 1900. The affidavit also notes that Mollie remarried Wilson Cantrell in 1906, and they remained married until his death in 1943.

John W. Berry remarried as well, although much of the information about his second wife has been lost to time. We know that he was remarried in El Paso County, and at some point he established himself again in Justin, but the identity of his second wife remains unknown.

John Watt Berry lived until 1928, passing away at the age of 68. Today, he rests in the Justin Cemetery — a reminder of one of our community's earliest pioneers and a man whose legacy quietly anchors the history of Justin.