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History in
a Pecan Shell
An earlier community
named Palo Alto had been established two and a half miles NE
of what would become Killeen in the early 1870s. The Gulf, Colorado
and Santa Fe Railway was expanding in 1881 and platted a seventy-block
town, naming it after the assistant general manager of the railroad
- Frank P. Killeen. When the first train arrived - there was a crowd
of some 40 residents there to greet it. Populations from smaller communities
were drawn off and added to Killeen's population which was further
bolstered by people attracted by a national campaign run by the railroad.
By 1884 the town had 350 residents with a substantial number of essential
businesses. It became a shipping point for cotton,
and was wired for telephone service by 1896. The town was wired for
lights in 1904-05 and bridges were constructed over Cowhouse Creek
doubling the city's trade area. A public water system was set in place
by 1914. |
Camp Hood
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Highway
190 was built through the town during the Great Depression and then
Killeen changed forever in 1942 when Camp Hood was built. Overnight
it became a military boomtown with thousands of workers as well as
the military personnel stationed there. Housing was so scarce that
a tent city was set up to accommodate construction workers. Camp Hood
covered almost half of the city's trade area and whole communities
disappeared into the base. The government had bought over 300 farms
and ranches and the
displaced cotton gins
and other businesses seriously hurt the traditional economy. New industries
developed to service the fort which remain in place to the present.
After WWII,
Killeen nearly became a ghost
- but it was revitalized when the base became permanent (and was renamed
Fort Hood) in 1950. |
First Armored
Division Tank in Fort Hood
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
| The
city's infrastructure was strained to the breaking point so in 1955
a master plan was drawn up for a massive building program. Just when
things seemed to be catching up, cutbacks in the military caused another
recession. In 1959, the First Armored Division was stationed back
at Fort Hood and the population increased - again - surpassing by
2,000 the level of the mid 50s. The 1980 Census showed Killeen to
be the largest city in Bell
County. |
| Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Downtown Killeen
1950 postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Killeen's Population
Figures:
1900: 780 1914:
1,300 1931: 1,260 1940: 1,263 1950: 7,000 1955: 21,000 1960: 23,000
1970: 35,000 1980: 49,000 1990: 63,500 |
| 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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