Farmers Branch
Farmers Branch, Texas
Farmers Branch is on Interstate Highway 35 and State Highway 77 twelve miles north of downtown Dallas in northwestern Dallas County. The Burlington Northern and Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroads serve the city. Farmers Branch was the location in 1845 of the first office of the Texan Land and Emigration Company, or the Peters colony. It was the most well-known Dallas County town during the 1840s because of its advertising throughout Europe and the United States. Thomas Keenan, Isaac B. Webb, and William Cochran all arrived in 1842 and received original land grants in the area that became the site of Farmers Branch. By 1843 settlers had established a community called Mustang Branch, named for the Mustang grapes that grew along the creek. Cochran later changed the name to Farmers Branch because of the area's rich farmland.
On May 5, 1845, Isaac Webb established the first formal church in Dallas County, called Webb or Webb's Chapel. This Methodist church originally met in a log cabin, which went through several buildings but still existed as a congregation in the 1990s. A school was started in the church in 1846. Webb became the first postmaster of Farmers Branch when the post office was established there on January 5, 1848. The post office functioned until 1866, was closed, and was reinstated in 1875. The first blacksmith shop in Dallas County was built at Farmers Branch in 1845 by William Bowles, a Baptist preacher, and his slave Jordan, who worked as the blacksmith. In the same year the first Dallas County gristmill was built there; it used rawhide belts that could be used only when the weather was dry because they stretched when wet. The first local cotton gin was built in 1849 by James A. Smith.
Lisa C. Maxwell | © TSHA
Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.
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Belongs to
Farmers Branch is part of or belongs to the following places:
Currently Exists
Yes
Place type
Farmers Branch is classified as a Town
Associated Names
- (Mustang Branch)
Location
Latitude: 32.92721630Longitude: -96.88035900
Has Post Office
Yes
Is Incorporated
Yes
Population Count, 2021 View more »
36,442
Places of Farmers Branch
Place | Type | Population (Year/Source) | Currently Exists |
---|---|---|---|
College or University | – | Yes |
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