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ROGERS,
TEXAS
Bell County,
North Central Texas
Highway 190 and Highway 36
FM 437 and FM 2184
12 Miles SE of Temple
18 Miles SE of Belton
16 Miles NW of Cameron
Population: 1,117 (2000)
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Downtown Rogers
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2006 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named for railroad official John D. Rogers of the Gulf, Colorado and
Santa Fe Railway, the town had a population of 150 and most essential
businesses by the mid 1880s. The town was incorporated in 1899 and
the newly elected mayor (James D. King) had a two-story building constructed
- with the top floor being used as an opera house.
By 1914 the town had grown to an estimated 1,275 people. Cotton was
indeed King and in 1918 Rogers won the much-contested honor of having
shipped more cotton than any other town or city in Texas. |
Masonic lodge
sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2006 |
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town suffered a fire in the 1920s but the population held through
that decade. After the Great Depression the town had been reduced
slightly to just over 900 people. Growth had been slow and steady,
growing to 1,420 residents by the mid 1970s. It has since declined
slightly to the present figure of 1,117. |
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