Town of Grandview

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it: and what a story it is. We're talking about Grandview, Johnson County, Texas, and the original site sits about a mile northwest of where you're standing right now. Settle in.

It starts in 1850. Somebody takes out a land grant from Governor Elisha M. Pease, and just like that, a settlement takes root on the Texas prairie.

Now, this isn't close to anything convenient; supplies had to be hauled in by ox wagon all the way from Houston. Think about that for a second. Every nail, every sack of flour, every dry good you needed came creaking and groaning across the Texas landscape behind a team of oxen.

That kind of determination has a way of building a town with some backbone. At some point, a visitor passed through, took in the sweeping Texas landscape, and couldn't help themselves. "What a grand view!" they exclaimed, and that, according to the marker, is exactly how this community got its name. One unguarded moment of honest admiration, and it stuck.

The community kept building itself up, piece by piece. A church was organized in 1853. A post office opened in 1856.

Then in 1860, and this one carries some weight, a Masonic lodge was founded, the first in the entire county. That's the kind of civic infrastructure that says people aren't just passing through. They intend to stay.

And stay they did, though not exactly in the same spot. In 1883, the whole town picked itself up and moved to this present site; because the Missouri-Kansas-Texas rail line came through here, and any town with sense followed the railroad. By 1891, Grandview was officially incorporated.

Then came the Grand View Collegiate Institute, operating from 1897 to 1907, bringing higher education out to the Johnson County prairie for a solid ten years. Now. Here is where the story takes a hard turn, and it deserves to be said plainly.

In 1920, a devastating fire tore through Grandview. Not a small fire. Not a close call.

One hundred and thirty-five homes, schools, churches, and businesses; razed. A community that had hauled its supplies by ox wagon from Houston, that had organized a church and a post office and the county's first Masonic lodge, that had moved itself wholesale to follow a railroad. That community watched an enormous piece of everything it had built go up in flames.

And then, because that kind of town doesn't quit, Grandview rebuilt. Five years after the fire, in 1925, the town even tidied up its own name; officially becoming Grandview, one word, no space. From a land grant in 1850 to a fire in 1920 to a rename in 1925.

That's not just a community, that's a town that kept insisting on itself. One mile northwest is where it all began. Right here is where it decided to stay.

What the marker says

(Original Site One Mile Northwest) Settled in 1850 on land grant from Governor Elisha M. Pease. Supplies were hauled by ox wagon from Houston. A visitor exclaimed, "What a grand view!" which gave community its name. Church organized 1853. Post office opened in 1856. Masonic lodge (county's first) founded 1860. Town moved to this site, on Missouri-Kansas-Texas rail line, in 1883. Incorporated in 1891. Home of Grand View Collegiate Institute 1897-1907. Devastating 1920 fire razed 135 homes, schools, churches, and businesses. Town name changed to Grandview (one word) in 1925. (1970)