DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the city of Rowlett. Now, every town has a beginning, and Rowlett's beginning went by a different name entirely. Back in 1880, when they planted a post office out here in northeastern Dallas County, they called it Morris.
Named for Austin Morris, the man who served as its first postmaster. Simple as that — a post office, a name, a dot on the Texas map. Then the railroad came through.
The Greenville and Dallas Railroad — later known as the MK&T — cut through town, and three years after that, in 1889, the post office got a new name: Rowlett. Now, where exactly that name came from, the record gets a little hazy. The marker is honest about it — the origin is not entirely clear.
But there's a possibility worth tellin'. It may have come from a man named Daniel Owen Rowlett, an early Texas settler who worked as a surveyor for Mercer's Colony. May have.
The marker won't swear to it, and neither will I. But whatever you call a place, people have a way of filling it up. By the turn of the century, Rowlett had two doctors, a cotton gin, three general stores, a barber shop, a blacksmith shop, two churches, a depot, and naturally, the post office still standing.
That's a town taking shape. And it wasn't done yet. By 1912, you could add a bank, a telephone exchange, and a two-story school building to that list.
By 1937, many more businesses had moved in, including a newspaper — the Rowlett News. In 1952, the citizens of Rowlett voted to incorporate, and growth kept right on coming through the 20th century. Then in 1971, Lake Ray Hubbard was completed — Dallas' chief source of water — and that lake wraps around Rowlett on its east, south, and west sides.
This town that started as a post office named Morris now sits nearly surrounded by water. The marker puts it plainly: the history of Rowlett is a good reflection of the settlement patterns in this part of Texas. A name, a postmaster, a railroad, a surveyor who may or may not have lent his name to the whole affair — and a town that just kept growing.
That's northeastern Dallas County for you. That's Rowlett.
What the marker says
Rowlett was first known as Morris, the name given to the post office that was established here in 1880. Austin Morris served as the first postmaster. In 1889, three years after the Greenville & Dallas Railroad (later the MK&T) was built through town, the post office's name was changed to Rowlett. Although the origin of the name is not clear, it may have come from Daniel Owen Rowlett, an early Texas settler who was a surveyor for Mercer's Colony. By the turn of the century, Rowlett had two doctors, a cotton gin, three general stores, a barber shop, blacksmith shop, two churches, a depot, and the post office. Additionally, by 1912 it boasted a bank, a telephone exchange, and a two-story school building. Many more businesses, including a newspaper (the "Rowlett News"), had begun in the town by 1937. The citizens of Rowlett voted to incorporate in 1952, and growth has continued throughout the 20th century. Lake Ray Hubbard, Dallas' chief source of water, was completed in 1971 and borders Rowlett on its east, south, and west sides. The history of the northeastern Dallas County town is a good reflection of the settlement patterns in this part of the state. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986