Stamford

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Jones County, and the town of Stamford has a story that starts long before the first nail was ever driven here. It starts with a Swedish native named Swante Magnus Swenson.

Now that is a name that carries some weight, and the story carries even more. Swante Magnus Swenson and his two sons, Eric Pierson and Swen Albin Swenson, came to Texas in 1882 to establish what would become known as the SMS ranches. That's the foundation.

Everything else gets stacked on top of it. In 1899, Eric P. and Swen A. Swenson donated a large section of land for a townsite on an extension of the Texas Central Railway.

A generous move, and a consequential one. The railway president, a man named Henry McHarg, named the new town Stamford, after his hometown in Connecticut. So this corner of West Texas got a Connecticut name, carried west by a railroad man, planted on land given by the sons of a Swedish immigrant.

That right there tells you something about how Texas gets built. And things moved fast once that name was on the map. Also in 1899, a Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in members' homes, and a post office was established in a railroad boxcar.

Not a building. A boxcar. That's where you picked up your mail.

Then January 1900, the Bank of Stamford opened for business. February, the first train pulled out of the Stamford depot. Businesses, churches, utilities, all of it coming together like a town that had somewhere to be.

By January 1901, the place was incorporated, and P. P. Berthelot became the first mayor.

Now the economy here leaned hard on agriculture, which is fitting given where you're standing. Cotton. Swenson's Herefords.

Other area livestock. Substantial income, the marker says, and it means it. But Stamford wasn't just fields and fences.

The town boasted a flour mill, a cottonseed oil plant, an iron foundry, gins, brick manufacturers, and a railroad roundhouse. Passenger trains, freight trains, both bringing business through. In 1907, Stamford Collegiate Institution opened, a Methodist school that later became Stamford College.

Then 1935, oil was discovered near Stamford, and just like that, the economic base got broader still. During World War II, U.S. Army pilots trained at nearby Arledge Field.

This town was doing its part on every front. Now here's where the story gets a little bittersweet, the way a good campfire story often does near the end. The Burlington Northern Railroad, the final proprietor of the railway through Stamford, abandoned the track in the late 1990s.

The railroad that named this town, that first train pulling out of the depot back in February of 1900, eventually pulled out for good. But the Swenson Land and Cattle Company remained in operation. Cotton, cattle, and wheat were still among Stamford's leading industries at the dawn of the 21st century.

The sons of a Swedish immigrant donated the land. A railroad man gave the town its name. The trains came and went, and the land kept right on working.

Some things in Texas just hold.

What the marker says

Swedish native Swante Magnus Swenson and his two sons, Eric Pierson and Swen Albin Swenson, came to Texas in 1882 to establish the SMS ranches. In 1899, Eric P. and Swen A. Swenson donated a large section of land for a townsite on an extension of the Texas Central Railway. Railway president Henry McHarg named the new town Stamford for his hometown in Connecticut. A Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in members' homes and a post office was established in a railroad boxcar in 1899. The Bank of Stamford opened for business in January 1900 and the first train pulled out of the Stamford depot in February. Businesses, churches and utilities soon were established. The booming town was incorporated in January 1901 and P. P. Berthelot became the first mayor. Stamford relied primarily on agriculture for its economy. Cotton, Swenson's Herefords and other area livestock brought substantial income. The town also boasted a flour mill, cottonseed oil plant, iron foundry, gins, brick manufacturers and a railroad roundhouse. Both passenger and freight trains brought business to town. Stamford Collegiate Institution (later Stamford College), a Methodist school, opened in 1907. Oil was discovered near Stamford in 1935 and broadened the town's economic base still further. U. S. Army pilots trained at nearby Arledge Field during World War II. The town of Stamford thrived throughout the 20th century. Though the Burlington Northern Railroad (final proprietor of the railway through Stamford) abandoned the track in the late 1990s, the Swenson Land and Cattle Company remained in operation, and cotton, cattle and wheat continued to be among Stamford's leading industries at the dawn of the 21st century. (2000)