Dublin

Dublin is on U.S. highways 67 and 377 in southwest Erath County. It was founded in 1854 by A. H. Dobkins and named in 1860, probably for the warning cry at Indian raids, "Double In," for the capital of Ireland, or for the double-log cabins used by early settlers. Growth increased in 1874 as Dublin acquired stagecoach service and a post office. In 1881 the Texas Central Railroad was built through to Mount Airy, a few miles from Dublin. J. D. Bishop laid out a townsite on the line four miles south of Mount Airy, which drew residents from old to new Dublin. Within a year the new Dublin had forty-five businesses and sixty-five homes, so the railroad moved its depot from Mount Airy to new Dublin. The town was incorporated on March 18, 1889. By 1890 the population was 2,025. It was 2,370 in 1900, 2,271 in 1930, 2,746 in 1950, 2,810 in 1970, 2,723 in 1980, and 3,190 in 1990. The town is a center for agriculture and industry, including oil and gas production, clothing factories, peanut shelling and drying plants, feed mills, milk processing, saddle and rope making, and metal stamping. Dublin has two city parks, the Lyon Museum, a public library, a hospital, and a nursing home. It also has an airport, two railroads, a golf course, and recreational facilities at Proctor Reservoir. The town was one of the first in the state to have streetcars. It is the birthplace of golfer Ben Hogan, home of a world-championship rodeo, and the former home of the annual Grand Army of the Republic reunion.