City of Alvord

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: my job is just to do it justice. Back in the early 1880s, out in Wise County, there was a quiet little spot sitting right on an old Indian trail. Nothing fancy yet, just a small agricultural community finding its footing, the kind of place that keeps its head down and tends to its business.

They called it Nina back then. Simple enough name. But Nina wasn't going to stay Nina for long.

See, in 1882, the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad came driving a line right through this corner of Texas, and when a railroad shows up, things have a way of changing. By 1883, the town had a new name: Alvord, probably in honor of J.B. Alvord, President of the railroad itself.

Now that's one way to get a town named after you. Early businesses started filling in around that old trail like they had somewhere to be. Mercantile stores, a drugstore, a variety store, a bank, hotels.

And then (and here's where it gets interesting) a saloon. But not just any saloon. This one had a second floor opera house sitting right on top of it.

You think about that for a second. Down below, somebody's losing at cards or arguing about cattle prices. Up above, there's opera.

Only in Texas does that make perfect sense. The first school came along in 1890, established out at Briar Branch, giving the next generation somewhere to sharpen up. And Alvord just kept on going; farming, ranching, oil production, building itself into a center of all three.

Started on an old Indian trail, got a railroad, got a new name, got opera above a saloon. Not a bad run for a town that once was just called Nina.

What the marker says

By 1882, when the Fort Worth & Denver Railroad built a line to this area, a small agricultural community had developed here on an old Indian trail. First known as Nina, the town was renamed Alvord in 1883, probably in honor of J.B. Alvord, President of the railroad. Early businesses here included mercantile stores, a drugstore, a variety store, a bank, Hotels and a saloon with a second floor opera house. the first school was established at Briar Branch in 1890. Alvord has continued to develop as a center of farming, ranching and oil production.