Sanger and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passing it along. Mile post 392.16. That's where it all began.

Not a town, not even a dream of one, just a water stop on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, a line running north from Fort Worth up toward Purcell in Indian Territory. The year was 1886, and the railroad needed water. What it got, eventually, was a whole lot more than that.

Now, the stop sat close enough to the north Denton County cattle ranches and the Chisholm Trail that the railroad took notice. You don't put a water stop next to that kind of cattle country without someone figuring out there's money to be made. So the railroad constructed a side track, cattle pens, a loading chute, and a depot.

The bones of something were starting to show. A woman named Mrs. Elizabeth Bullock Huling had sold the property for that railroad stop in the first place.

And once she saw what was taking shape, she hired surveyors to plat a townsite surrounding it. Then she did something that doesn't get done every day, she donated land. A wagon yard, a well, a school, a town square, a cemetery, and a Methodist church.

That's not a woman planting seeds. That's a woman planting a town. Before long, a saloon opened up.

A blacksmith shop. The Ready Hotel, which housed the first post office. The place had a pulse now.

The town went by Huling first, makes sense, given who built the foundation. Then for a spell it was called New Bolivar. But eventually, officially, it was named in honor of Sanger Brothers, a prominent Texas dry goods firm.

The town was incorporated in 1892. Then 1890 brought fire. Much of Sanger burned.

You'd think that might have been the end of the story, but the railroad didn't see it that way. It rebuilt, and expanded. By 1897, the Sanger Mill and Elevator Company had opened.

Home of silk finish flour. That little detail matters, because it marks the moment Sanger began transitioning from a cattle town to a farming community. The land was changing what it wanted to be.

Cattle kept driving the economy, though, until around 1900, when two meat packing plants were built in Fort Worth. After that, ranchers started trucking their cattle to market. The old ways were being rerouted, same as a rail line switching tracks.

Then came World War II, and the depot roared back to life. Rail traffic surged. And as the men went to war, it was women who stepped in and took over operations at the depot.

The trains kept running. Passenger rail service ended eventually. But here's the thing about a town that started as nothing more than a water stop at mile post 392.16.

Sanger continues to grow and prosper. Some starts are humble. Some humble starts just refuse to stay that way.

What the marker says

Sanger originated in 1886 at mile post 392.16 as a water stop along the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Route leading north from Fort Worth to Purcell, Indian territory (now Oklahoma). The stop’s proximity to north Denton county cattle ranches and to the Chisholm Trail led the railroad to construct a side track, cattle pens, loading chute and depot. Mrs. Elizabeth Bullock Huling, who had sold the property for the railroad stop, soon hired surveyors to plat a townsite surrounding it. Mrs. Huling donated land for a wagon yard, well, school, town square, cemetery and methodist church. A saloon, blacksmith shop and the ready hotel, which housed the first post office, opened shortly after. The town, originally known as Huling, and later New Bolivar, was officially named in honor of Sanger Brothers, a prominent Texas dry goods firm. The town was incorporated in 1892. When an 1890 fire destroyed much of sanger, the railroad rebuilt expanded facilities. The 1897 establishment of the Sanger Mill and elevator company, home of silk finish flour, helped to transition Sanger to a farming community. Cattle continued to drive the economy until two meat packing plants were built in Fort Worth ca. 1900, and ranchers began trucking cattle to market. World War II increased rail traffic at the depot and operations were taken over by women as men went to war. Although passenger rail service later ended, the town of Sanger, which got its start as a railroad water stop, continues to grow and prosper.