City of Pilot Point

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the city of Pilot Point, up in Denton County. Now, every good town has a story, and this one starts the way the best Texas stories do: with land worth wanting. Fertile soil, water nearby, game in the woods.

That combination had a way of pulling pioneers in like a magnet, and in the late 1840s, they started arriving at this spot near the edge of the Cross Timbers region. Didn't take long before a village began to take shape. They called it Pilot's Point, and here's why that name fits so well: there was a high point of timber out here that travelers used as a landmark.

You could see it, set your course by it, and know you were headed somewhere. That kind of thing matters when you're crossing open country and looking for proof the world hasn't run out of places to go. The town also sat near an early immigrant trail and served as a stop on the Butterfield State Route, so this wasn't some hidden hollow.

People were moving through here with purpose. In 1854 a townsite was formally platted, laid out on land originally granted to a man named Charles Smith. And that's when things start picking up speed.

Dr. R. W.

Edleman came all the way from Missouri (born in 1825, and he'd live to 1904) and set up both a medical practice and a drugstore. A man who could heal you and sell you the remedy. James D.

Walcott ran the earliest general store in town, and in 1855 he became the first postmaster. Meanwhile, a settler named Alphius Knight had made his way down from New York to build and conduct the first school in Pilot Point. So you had medicine, commerce, mail, and education all taking root inside of a decade.

Then came 1872, and three local residents put their heads together and established Pilot Point Seminary. That institution would later be renamed Franklin College, and it operated right here for almost thirty years. A town with a college is a town with ambitions.

By 1878, Pilot Point had its first newspaper in print. By 1884, a bank had opened. The town was a genuine marketing center for farmers and stock raisers: it had a grist mill, it had a cotton gin.

And then, in the 1880s, not one but two railroads came rolling in: the Texas and Pacific, and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas. Two railroads. That's not a coincidence, that's a town that had made itself worth stopping at.

The economy got a boost, the way a fire gets a boost when somebody opens a barn door. By the time the 1970s rolled around, Pilot Point's economy was still running on agriculture and light industry. Different tools, same deep roots.

Started with fertile land and a timber landmark on the horizon. Still standing. That's Pilot Point.

What the marker says

Attracted by fertile land and abundant water and game, pioneers began to settle at this site near the edge of the Cross Timbers region in the late 1840s. The village, first known as Pilot's Point, was named for a high point of timber that served travelers as a landmark. Near an early immigrant trail, Pilot Point was also a stop on the Butterfield State Route. A townsite was platted in 1854 on land originally granted to Charles Smith. Dr. R. W. Edleman (1825-1904) of Missouri came here to launch a medical practice and open a drugstore. James D. Walcott ran the earliest general store and became the first postmaster in 1855. Alphius Knight, a settler from New York, built and conducted the first school in the town. Established by three local residents in 1872, Pilot Point Seminary was later renamed Franklin College and operated here for almost 30 years. In 1878 the town's first newspaper was published and in 1884 a bank opened. A marketing center for farmers and stock raisers, Pilot Point had a grist mill and a cotton gin. The arrival of two railroads, the Texas and Pacific and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, boosted the local economy in the 1880s. Agriculture and light industry form the base of the town's economy in the 1970s. (1978) Incise on back: Marker sponsored by Chamber of Commerce Researched by: Mavis Burton, Norma Cole, Clifton Irick, Judy Lewellen, Estelle Whitley