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MIDLOTHIAN,
TEXAS
Ellis County,
North Central Texas
Highway 287
7 mile NE of Venus
9 miles NW of Waxahachie
25 miles SW of Dallas
Population: 7,480 (2000)
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Cotton
Wagons in Downtown Midlothian
Photo courtesy of Ellis County Historical Museum |
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Downtown
Midlothian today
Photo courtesy Bob Worley, November 2005 |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Previous names include Hawkin's Spring and Barker (after the post
office).
The name is said to have been suggested by a homesick Scottish train
engineer after his hometown in the old country. The change was made
in 1882 or 1883 when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway railroad
arrived.
Settlement dated back to 1800, but full-blown colonization didn't
start until peace treaties with hostile Indians were put in place
in 1843. First families included the William Alden Hawkins and Larkin
Newton families who received grants authorized by the Peters colony
in 1848. (See cabin photo) |
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The
log cabin
Photo courtesy Bob Worley, Nov. 2005 |
A log cabin with
an earthen floor was the community's first school, church, and community
hall.
A post office was granted under the name Barker, Texas in 1877.
Populations of Midlothian for various years: 1884: 300, 1892: 600
to 800, 1896: 1,000, 1950s: 1,175, 1980s: 5,087, 1990s: 5,141, and
currently 7,480 (2004).
Midlothian was incorporated in April 1888 when at least twenty-five
essential businesses were in operation, including a millinery, confectionery,
bakery, and a weekly newspaper ( the Midlothian Visitor).
In Kimmel Park a private boarding school called The Polytechnic Academy
is remembered by a historical marker. It later became the Polytechnic
Institute and then the Whitten Institute and Midlothian College before
merging with the town's public schools in 1903.
By 1896 Midlothian was thriving with sixty-two businesses. Two years
later the Midlothian Oil Mill and Gin Company opened - operating fourteen
gins at its peak. |
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Trades
Day in Midlothian c. 1915
Photo courtesy Ellis County Historical Museum |
| In the mid-1970s
Midlothian started becoming a bedroom community of Dallas
and Fort Worth although
the downtown area has retained it's charm with the restoration of
many of it's historic buildings. |
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The
fire house
Photo courtesy Bob Worley, Nov. 2005 |
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Midlothian
Cement Capitol of Texas
Photo courtesy Bob Worley, Nov. 2005 |
In the 1980s
Midlothian became known as "The Cement Capitol of Texas."
Though Midlothian proper was left essentially unchanged, the school
district has expanded greatly. |
Midlothian
Texas Forum
Anyone wishing
to share history, memories or photos of historic Midlothian, Texas,
please contact
us.
© John Troesser |
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