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CLEBURNE, TEXAS
Johnson
County
seat, Central
Texas North
32° 21' 6" N, 97° 23' 33" W (32.351667, -97.3925)
Junction of US 67 and Hwy 171 and 174
51 miles SW of Dallas
30 miles S of Fort
Worth
Population: 31,295 Est. (2019)
29,337 (2010) 26,005 (2000) 22,205 (1990)
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Cleburne started
life as a crossroads with the east west road once connecting the forts
of Graham and Belknap
and the north/ south road being not far from the famous Chisholm Trail.
It was a mustering point for troops joining the Confederacy and was
first known as Camp Henderson. It became a permanent settlement
and after the Civil War was chosen to be the Johnson
County seat of government (after Wardville
and Buchanan failed to meet the
state criterion of being centrally located. The town was renamed after
Patrick R. Cleburne, a Confederate General and became Johnson
County’s third seat.
Although the 1870 census counted less than 700 residents, in 20 years
it had grown to nearly 4,000.
The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in 1881, joining
Cleburne with Temple
and in 1887 a second line connected to Weatherford.
With the construction of a roundhouse and machine shops for the Sante
Fe Railroad in the 1890s, Cleburne’s status rose to new heights. It
later served as a stop on the Fort Worth Interurban.
A railroad worker’s strike in 1922 forced the governor to call in
Texas Rangers to keep order in the city which was then home to nearly
13,000 people.
Cleburne benefited from the postwar growth of nearby Fort
Worth. Over the years a slow but steady growth resulted in a 1990
census count of over 22,000 residents. |
Cleburne, Texas
Landmarks/Attractions
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The
Layland Museum -
Formerly the Carnegie Library
Historic Homes
Tour - Several 1800s homes have been restored and are open for the
Candlewalk Historic Home Tour - Second Saturday in December
Cleburne State
Park
12 miles SW of Cleburne. US 67, Park Rd. 21.
Admission. 800-792-1112
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Acton
State Historic Site
Located in Hood County
Texas' smallest state park - with a cemetery.
c/o Cleburne State Park
5800 Park Rd 21
Cleburne TX 76031
817/645-4215
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
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Cleburne Depot
vintage photo
J.F. Curry Photographer
Click
on imae to enlarge
Vintage photo courtesy Dane Williams |
Santa
Fe Shops
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/
See Texas Railroads |
Site of Old Picnic
Grounds Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, September 2010 |
1914 bird's
eye view of Cleburne, Texas
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
East Henderson
Street Baptist Church
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Main Street
M.E. Church, Cleburne, Texas
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/
More Texas Churches |
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Esquire Theatre
in Cleburne
July 1985 photo courtesy Billy
Smith
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The
Esquire Theater of Cleburne
MY NAME IS MIKE RAY HARTMAN. I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN FORT WORTH.
SINCE 1986, I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF JOSHUA. WHEN OUR CHILDREN (BOTH
GROWN NOW) WERE YOUNGER, WE USED TO GO TO THE ESQUIRE AND SEE MOVIES
FOR A $1.00, OR A $1.50...FROM MAYBE THE LATE 80'S THROUGH THE EARLY
90'S. ONE OF MY LIFELONG DREAMS WAS TO BE A SINGER. SOME-TIME, IN
THE EARLY 90'S, THE ESQUIRE BECAME AN "OPRY". I WENT THERE, ONE NIGHT,
TO AUDITION. I REMEMBER SEEING A MAN NAMED NORMAN ABBOTT, SOMEONE
I HAD GONE TO THE SAME HIGH SCHOOL WITH (TRIMBLE TECH, FORT WORTH).
HE WAS THEIR STEEL GUITAR PLAYER. NOT TOO LONG AFTER THE AUDITION,
I HEARD FROM A FRIEND AT WORK THAT THE ESQUIRE HAD CLOSED. FORTUNATELY
FOR ME, THE MANAGER OF A SMALLER OPRY, IN OCEOLA, WAS PRESENT DURING
MY AUDITION, AND CALLED ME TO SING AT HIS PLACE. I DO, HOWEVER, WISH
I COULD'VE SANG AT THE ESQUIRE. THOSE OLD THEATRES HAVE SO MUCH ATMOSPHERE,
AND GREAT ACOUSTICS, TOO. AS YOU KNOW, THE ESQUIRE LATER BECAME A
CHURCH. I HOPE THAT CHURCH WAS ABLE TO RELOCATE TO ANOTHER BUILDING,
AFTER LEAVING THE ESQUIRE. IT SADDENED ME TO SEE THE THEATRE DEMOLISHED.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE...I AM FULFILLING MY LIFELONG DREAM. I RETIRED
FROM GENERAL MOTORS, IN JUNE 2006, AFTER 36 YEARS SERVICE. A LITTLE
OVER A YEAR BEFORE THAT, I PURCHASED A PORTABLE SOUND SYSTEM, A CD
PLAYER, AND BACKGROUND TRACKS. MY SPECIALTY BECAME MY FAVORITE MUSIC,
50'S AND EARLY 60'S ROCK AND ROLL...WITH A LITTLE COUNTRY. SINCE JULY,
OF 2005, I HAVE BEEN THE THURSDAY NIGHT REGULAR ON THE GRANBURY
RIVERBOAT. I HAVE PERFORMED AT NEARLY ALL THE "OPRYS", HERE IN THE
DALLAS/FT.WORTH, AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES AREA. I ALSO SING AT FESTIVALS,
RESTAURANTS, PRIVATE PARTIES, NURSING HOMES, RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES,
ETC. MY WIFE OF 31 YEARS(AND STILL GOING) MANAGES ME AND ALSO RUNS
THE SOUND. I APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING A LITTLE "LONG WINDED", ON THIS
E-MAIL. IT WAS A JOY FOR ME TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. I HOPE I DIDN'T
BORE YOU. LONG LIVE OUR TEXAS
THEATRES...AND I WISH THEY WOULD QUIT TEARING THE DARN THINGS
DOWN !! THANK YOU. - MIKE RAY HARTMAN, Joshua, Texas, December 05,
2006 |
Cleburne
Chronicles
Chaparral
by Mike Cox
It's hardly known today, but the long ago pastor of Cleburne's First
Christian Church had a mechanical as well as spiritual nature. Around
1908, he designed and built the first automobile to be commercially
manufactured in Texas. more
"The
Boll Weevil" by Mike Cox
One of many long and short lines serving Texas was the Trinity and
Brazos Valley Railway, better known in the early 1900s as "The Boll
Weevil." With headquarters in Houston, it ran from Cleburne to Beaumont.
Chartered in 1902, and later operated for years in receivership,
the line became part of the Burlington-Rock Island in 1930. more
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The
restored original Johnson County log cabin courthouse in Wardville,
First county seat of Johnson
County
Photo courtesy Johnson County Chisholm Trail Museum
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Nearby
Destinations
Johnson
County - Towns and Ghost Towns
Glen
Rose - US 67 West 24 miles
Hillsboro
- Hwy 171 South 29 miles
Waco
- From Hillsboro, US 35 South 33 miles
Waxahachie
- US 67 Northeast 37 miles, follow signs
Weatherford
- Hwy 171 North 40 miles
Cleburne
Tourist Information
Cleburne
Chamber of Commerce - 817-645-2455
Visitor Center
1511 W. Henderson Cleburne, Texas 76033
P.O. Box 701
http://www.cleburnechamber.com/
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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