Bransford

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and it's one worth slowing down for. Now, out here in Tarrant County, not every town gets to outlive its own name. Bransford very nearly did both.

It started the way a lot of things started out on the Texas frontier — with a post office. Sometime in the late nineteenth century, one opened in this vicinity, and they called it Bransford. Named for a pioneer by the name of Felix Grundy Bransford, born in 1828, gone in 1898.

Then came 1889, and the post office got moved. Moved to a place called Red Rock, right along the route of the St. Louis, Arkansas, and Texas Railroad.

Now here's the quiet part of the story — the name Bransford didn't stay behind. It followed. Over time, Bransford replaced Red Rock entirely, and what had been Red Rock became the center of a large farming community wearing a different name altogether.

And for a spell, friends, that community was something. Early residents remembered — and this list deserves a moment — a post office, two daily passenger trains, four doctors, two blacksmith shops, a livery stable, four general stores, and a lodge hall. Four doctors.

Two blacksmith shops. That is not a sleepy little crossroads. That is a town with ambition and a pulse.

The railroad depot was the heartbeat of it all, pulling in passengers and supplies for the surrounding agricultural communities spread out across the land. And then there was the Bransford Lodge Hall, built in 1911, which became home to four distinct organizations under one roof: the Odd Fellows, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Modern Maccabees, and the Farmers Union. Four groups, one hall, and more community gatherings than you could shake a gavel at.

But towns, like people, have their seasons. The Bransford Post Office closed in 1913. Highway travel started pulling people away from the old routes.

The railroad depot that had once been the center of everything gradually lost its reason for being. The town that had replaced Red Rock's very name began fading back into the fields it had risen from. By 1956, when the city of Colleyville was incorporated, most reminders of the hamlet called Bransford had already disappeared.

The post office, the trains, the blacksmith shops, the lodge hall full of fraternal handshakes — gone. A town that outlasted one name couldn't quite outlast time itself. But the marker remembers it.

And now, out here on the road, so do you.

What the marker says

A post office with the name Bransford opened in this vicinity in the late 19th century. In 1889 the post office was moved to Red Rock on the route of the St. Louis, Arkansas, and Texas Railroad. Named for pioneer Felix Grundy Bransford (1828-1898), the post office name eventually replaced the name of Red Rock and the town of Bransford became the center of a large farming community. Early residents of the area remembered a post office, two daily passenger trains, four doctors, two blacksmith shops, a livery stable, four general stores, and lodge hall in the town. The railroad depot provided a passenger and supply center for the surrounding agricultural communities. The Bransford Lodge Hall, built in 1911, provided a meeting place for four groups: The Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World, Knights of Modern Macabees, and the Farmers Union. It was also a gathering place for many community activities. The closing of the Bransford Post Office in 1913 and the advent of highway travel contributed to the decline of Bransford. By the time the city of Colleyville was incorporated in 1956, most reminders of the hamlet called Bransford had disappeared. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.