Bishop

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Bishop, Nueces County — so let's get into it. Somewhere out on the South Texas prairie, one man looked at a stretch of open land and saw something nobody else did yet. F.Z.

Bishop had a dream — a model town, built from scratch, shaped to his exact vision. And in 1910, he set about making it real. He'd purchased the land from the Driscoll Ranch, and the townsite was staked out on both sides of the St.

Louis, Brownsville and Mexico railroad line. Right there from the start, you can feel the ambition. Bishop didn't just lay out a few lots and call it a day.

He managed construction of the whole town himself. He planned the townsite. He designed the business district to have a uniform appearance — brick facades all the way down, so the place would look like it meant something.

Then he kept going. He began construction of an electric plant and a water system. He planted six hundred palm trees along the streets.

Six hundred. He laid three miles of sidewalks. A forty-acre city park was underway, with a lake, a band pavilion, and a deer park.

A frame schoolhouse went up and opened in September of 1910 — same year the town was established. Now that is a man who did not think small. And the people came.

Within two years, the population had grown to a thousand. The town was incorporated in April 1912, and R.R. Hall — business manager for F.Z.

Bishop — was elected the first mayor. Churches were built. That original frame schoolhouse gave way to a two-story brick school with a raised basement.

Bishop, the town, was becoming exactly what F.Z. Bishop, the man, had imagined. Then came 1916.

F.Z. Bishop declared bankruptcy. The dreamer who planted six hundred palms and laid three miles of sidewalk — broke.

It's the kind of turn that would've stopped a lesser story cold. But the town didn't stop. The town continued to grow and prosper.

Because by then, Bishop belonged to the people living in it, not just the man who staked it out. The story kept turning. In the 1940s, oil and gas discoveries came to Nueces County, and petroleum-related industries moved in to supplant agriculture as the chief economic base.

The prairie town had reinvented itself again. And F.Z. Bishop — the man who dreamed it all into being, who went broke watching it flourish — he was buried in Bishop in 1950.

In the town that bore his name. The town that outlasted his fortune, outlasted his bankruptcy, and kept right on growing. Some men build things that last longer than they do.

F.Z. Bishop was one of them.

What the marker says

The town of Bishop was established in 1910 by F.Z. Bishop on land he had purchased from the Driscoll Ranch. The townsite was staked on both sides of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico railroad line. F.Z. Bishop, who dreamed of building a model town on the prairie, managed construction of the town. Bishop planned the townsite and designed the business district to have a uniform appearance with brick facades. He began construction of an electric plant and water system, planted 600 palm trees along the streets, and laid three miles of sidewalks in town. A 40-acre city park with a lake, band pavilion and deer park were underway. A frame schoolhouse was built, and opened in September 1910. The town grew quickly and within two years the population had grown to 1,000. The town was incorporated in April 1912; R.R. Hall, business manager for F.Z. Bishop, was elected first mayor. Churches were built. A two story brick school with a raised basement replaced the first school. Although F.Z. Bishop declared bankruptcy in 1916, the town continued to grow and prosper. Oil and gas discoveries in the 1940's caused petroleum-related industries to supplant agriculture as the chief economic base. F.Z. Bishop was buried in Bishop in 1950.