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Main
street (Swenson Avenue) buildings in Stamford.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2007 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
A Texas Central Railroad executive named the town after hometown in
Connecticut. The town dates from 1899 when a railroad boxcar was put
on a siding and served as the community’s first post office. In 10
short years the town swelled to almost 4,000 people.
Stamford’s importance was cemented in place by a flour mill that was
in operation from 1906 until it burned in the mid 1940s.
Stamford had a railroad roundhouse and shops as well as a cottonseed
oil refinery, brick yards and a foundry.
In 1907 the Methodist church opened the Stamford Collegiate Institution
(which later became Stamford College). After a fire in 1918 and decreased
enrollment due to WWI,
the college closed in 1920 as McMurry College was opening in Abilene.
During WWII
a private school for military pilots opened at Arledge Field. The
town has been hosting The Texas Cowboy Reunion every 4th of July since
1930.
Rodeos are held just west of town adjacent to the Swenson Ranch. The
Cowboy Country Museum was founded in the 1970s.
The population of Stamford has remained over 4,000 from the 40s through
the 80s when it entered a slight decline. It fell to 3,817 for 1990
and then to 3,636 for the 2000 census. |
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The
St. John's Methodist Church, built in 1910, has a one-hundred foot
tower and was, for many years, the tallest church between El Paso
and Dallas.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2007 |
Another
view of the St. John's Methodist Church in Stamford
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, 2004 |
The
First Baptist Church on Swenson Avenue was built between 1908 and
1909.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2007 |
The
Swenson Land and Cattle Company established its headquarters in Stamford
in 1927.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2007 |
More
Stamford main street scene
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2007 |
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