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History in
a Pecan Shell
Former Alabaman Britton Dawson, veteran of San Jacinto and rancher
is the town’s namesake. Dawson lived here from 1847 until his death
in 1903. The town started its growth with arrival of the St. Louis
Southwestern Railroad. The line was a narrow-gauge affair, connecting
Corsicana with Waco.
A post office opened the following year and the town started collecting
the necessary businesses for growth and permanence. In 1887 the Dawson
Masonic Institute built a two-story lodge and school.
During its most prosperous years (the 1920s), Dawson had two banks,
four cotton gins and a cotton-seed oil plant. From a respectable population
of 500 in 1887, Dawson grew to 950 by 1914. It reached its zenith
in 1928 with 1,500 residents. In 1990 the population was 766, increasing
to 852 with the 2000 census. |
| A closed
church in Dawson |
| Odd
Fellows Building in Dawson |
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