Richardson

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: and it's a story with a whole ghost town hiding underneath the one you know. The town of Richardson, as it stands today, traces its beginning to an earlier community in this area called Breckenridge. Founded back in the 1840s by settlers pushing in from Kentucky, Tennessee, and other southern states, Breckenridge sat south of where Richardson stands now.

For a generation, that was the settlement. That was the place. And then came the railroad.

In 1873, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad was built through Dallas County; and it bypassed Breckenridge entirely. Now, you can imagine what that meant. A rail line in 1873 wasn't just convenience.

It was commerce, it was survival, it was the future rolling right past you on iron tracks. So the citizens did what practical Texans do: they moved. They packed up and headed north to meet the rail line, and they named their new town in honor of railroad contractor E.

H. Richardson. The land for that townsite wasn't taken; it was donated by William J.

Wheeler and Bernard Reilly. That's worth noting. The new town grew quickly.

Main street faced the railroad tracks, and before long Richardson was boasting homes, businesses, churches, and schools. By the 1890s it had become an important shipping point for the area's grain and cotton. Richardson was incorporated in 1925, and Thomas F.

McKamy was elected Mayor. The 1930 U.S. Census counted 629 souls calling it home.

Then World War II changed everything, the way it changed so many Texas towns; Richardson's economic base shifted away from agriculture and into electronics and manufacturing. The growth that followed the 1950s was something else entirely. By 1990, Richardson's population had passed 75,000.

From a bypassed farming community in the 1840s to a city of 75,000, and somewhere south of here, Breckenridge is still out there, quiet in the ground, the town that had to be left behind so this one could get started.

What the marker says

The town of Richardson can trace its beginning to an earlier community in this area named Breckenridge. Founded in the 1840s by settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and other southern states, Breckenridge was located south of present Richardson. In 1873 the Houston and Texas Central Railroad was built through Dallas County, bypassing the town of Breckenridge. The citizens moved north to the rail line and named their new town in honor of railroad contractor E. H. Richardson. Land for a townsite was donated by William J. Wheeler and Bernard Reilly. The new town grew quickly. With its main street facing the railroad tracks, it soon boasted homes, businesses, churches, and schools. By the 1890s Richardson was an important shipping point for area grain and cotton. The town was incorporated in 1925 and Thomas F. McKamy was elected Mayor. The 1930 U. S. Census showed a population of 629. Following World War II, the town's economic base changed from agriculture to electronics and manufacturing. Experiencing rapid growth after the 1950s, Richardson's population had passed 75,000 by 1990.