Old Bardwell

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: and this one's got a slow build, a twist, and a town that literally picked up and moved. Back in the 1880s, Ellis County was making a name for itself as a leading cotton producing county in the area. And wherever cotton goes, people follow.

A community took root out here called Pleasant Valley, well-situated for farmers hauling cotton by wagon. By 1882, those families had enough children to warrant a school, and Pleasant Valley School was formed to serve them. Down the road from that schoolhouse, a man named Elijah Reynolds sold a two-and-three-quarter-acre lot in 1883 to a fellow by the name of Labon Bonapart Freeman (went by Bonie), and Bonie Freeman built himself a steam-powered cotton gin right there along the Ennis to Milford Road.

Steam-powered. Out here on the Texas prairie. That's no small thing.

Now, 1884, Reynolds sold his property to Isaac Allen, and Allen started selling off lots, and just like that, the nucleus of a town began to form. Then comes 1892, and a gentleman from Ennis, John Ward Bardwell, bought the Freeman Gin. That same year, a post office was established, and an official name for the town was needed.

According to local tradition, it was Postmaster John Richard Roach who suggested the name Bardwell, after the cotton gin owner. And here's where the story gets just a little wry. John Ward Bardwell, the man the town was named for, never lived in Bardwell.

Not one day. And he owned that cotton gin for exactly one year before selling it in 1894 to William Whittington and William Roach. One year.

His name is on the map to this day, and he was barely in the picture long enough to leave boot prints. But the town didn't need him. Bardwell grew on its own terms: a church, a cotton gin, a general store, a post office, blacksmiths, druggists.

It even had its own newspaper, the Bardwell Herald. A real going concern. And then came 1907.

The railroad was built through Ellis County, and it missed Bardwell. Not by much. Half a mile to the east.

But in those days, half a mile from the railroad might as well have been the far side of the moon. Town officials looked at that gap and made a decision that doesn't happen very often in history: they moved. The entire town.

Beginning with the cotton gin and the Church of Christ, Bardwell picked itself up and relocated to the railroad. The new location prospered. And Old Bardwell, the original Pleasant Valley ground, where Bonie Freeman's steam gin once hummed and Isaac Allen platted out lots and John Richard Roach named a town after a man who'd already sold his gin and gone home, Old Bardwell faded into history.

The Bardwell Cotton Gin kept running in its new home for nearly a hundred years before it finally closed in 1983. A hundred years of cotton. Started by a community that refused to be left behind, and was willing to move an entire town to prove it.

What the marker says

In the 1880s, Ellis County emerged as a leading cotton producing county in the area. A community known as Pleasant Valley developed here, convenient for farmers transporting cotton by wagon. Pleasant Valley School was formed in 1882 to serve the families who had settled the area. Down the road from the school, Elijah Reynolds (1840-1911) sold a 2.75-acre lot to Labon Bonapart "Bonie" Freeman in 1883 along the Ennis to Milford Road (later State Highway 34). Freeman built a steam-powered cotton gin on site, In 1884, Elijah Reynolds sold his property to Isaac Allen (1832-1911), who sold several lots to form the nucleus of the town. John Ward Bardwell (1840-1921) of Ennis bought the Freeman Gin in 1892. The same year, the post office was established, and an official name for the town was needed. According to local tradition, Postmaster John Richard Roach (1845-1900) suggested Bardwell after the cotton gin owner. Bardwell himself never lived in Bardwell and owned the cotton gin for only one year, selling in 1894 to William Whittington and William Roach. Bardwell was on its way to becoming a thriving community with a church, cotton gin, general store, post office, blacksmiths and druggists. Bardwell had its own paper, the Bardwell Herald. When the railroad was built through Ellis County in 1907, it was built bypassing Bardwell by a half mile to the east. Town officials decided it was necessary to move the entire town to the railroad, beginning with the cotton gin and the Church of Christ. While the town prospered in its new location, Old Bardwell faded into history. The Bardwell Cotton Gin continued to operate in its new location for nearly 100 years before closing in 1983. (2021))