Duncanville

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Picture north Texas in the 1840s and 1850s — open land, pioneer farmers and ranchers pushing into a place that didn't have a name yet, just dirt and sky and possibility. They settled in, worked the ground, and for a good long while, that was the whole story.

Then 1881 rolled around, and everything changed the way things tend to change in Texas — by rail. The Chicago, Texas and Mexican Central Railroad extended a line right through here and put up a switching station. Now, a switching station doesn't sound like much, but out on the frontier, iron rails were the difference between obscurity and existence.

And a local man named John Duncan — who lived in the vicinity — was instrumental in securing the railroad's right-of-way to make it happen. So folks started calling the place Duncan Switch. Seemed only right.

Two men named Charles P. Nance and Chris Horne saw opportunity the way good merchants do, and they opened the first business in the area — a store, right at this very site. Now here's where things get interesting.

Nance went to apply for a post office under the name Duncan. Straightforward enough. But the postal authorities came back with a problem: there was already a Duncan, Texas.

Couldn't have two. So Nance did what a practical man does — he adjusted. He changed the name to Duncanville.

And on October 12th, 1882, the post office was approved and opened right there in that store. The next year, 1883, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad acquired the line, and suddenly local goods could move to distant markets. That's a real thing for a young settlement — connection to the wider world.

But growth, she came at her own pace. By the 1930s, only about three hundred people called Duncanville home. Three hundred souls holding down a town that had been waiting for its moment.

That moment came in 1947, when Duncanville incorporated, with D. L. Hopkins, Jr. stepping in as the first mayor.

And then the 1950s and 1960s arrived, nearby urban development pushed outward, and Duncanville — that little Duncan Switch, that place that almost got named something else entirely — started growing fast. Today it stands as the center of a major commercial area, one of the fastest growing towns in Texas. Not bad for a switching station and a stubborn postmaster who just changed one letter.

What the marker says

This area was first settled in the 1840s and 1850s by pioneer farmers and ranchers. In 1881 the Chicago, Texas & Mexican Central Railroad extended a line here and constructed a switching station. John Duncan, who lived in the vicinity, was instrumental in securing railroad right-of-way. As a result, the area became known as Duncan Switch. Charles P. Nance and Chris Horne opened the first business in the area, a store at this site. Nance applied for a post office for Duncan but was denied because there was already a Duncan, Texas. He then changed the name to Duncanville. On Oct. 12, 1882, the post office was approved and opened in the store. Acquired by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad in 1883, the rail line through this area allowed local goods to be shipped to distant markets. Duncanville's growth was gradual, however, and by the 1930s only about 300 people lived here. Incorporated in 1947 with D. L. Hopkins, Jr. as the first mayor, the town began to experience Rapid Growth in the 1950s and 1960s as a result of nearby urban development. Today, Duncanville serves as the center of a major commercial area. Its continued development as one of the fastest growing towns in Texas reflects its rich heritage and community pride. 1982