EDGEWOOD, TEXAS

History in a Pecan Shell

Settlement began in the 1840s along the Shreveport to Dallas Road. The first site was two miles SE of the present-day town and named Barren Ridge. It was here the town’s first cemetery was located as well as a Barren Ridge post office (opened 1850).

A second cemetery was started sometime between 1870 and 1890. The Texas and Pacific railroad arrived during this period and (the soon to be) Edgewood found itself between Canton and Wills Point in a bid to be the Van Zandt County seat. It was decided to build a depot on the Texas and Pacific tracks (actually both a freight and passenger depot) and this site (on the edge of a wood).

The town was platted and a spur was constructed from Canton. A new post office was granted and soon a dirt road connected the two communities.

By 1881 Edgewood had a hotel and blacksmith and was a firmly established as a T & P stop.The desirability of a railroad town attracted new settlers and in 1890 Edgewood entered the third phase of its history.

Shortly after 1893 the town’s original church was demolished and a second was built. By 1890 the town has a respectable population of 650 and all essential businesses for success. The 1914 population reached 500, doubling to 1,000 by 1929.

It declined to 76l during the Great Depression, and slowly climbing to 1,284 by 1990.

Edgewood, Texas Landmarks

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