|
|
|
|
Bellevue
water tower
Photo Courtesy Ken
Rudine, 2006 |
|
History
in a Pecan Shell
Settlement began in the 1870s but things didn't moving until 1882,
when the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway made Bellevue a shipping
point on its line. That same year a post office was applied for and
for some unknown reason the railroad's surveyor named the town after
the famed hospital in NYC.
By 1902 the population was 300 and the townspeople incorporated. In
April of 1906 the town suffered a destructive tornado - leaving fourteen
dead and only a handful of buildings standing. The town rebuilt and
by the mid 1920s the town had over 700 people. With the arrival of
The Great Depression the population declined to 546 by 1936 and although
oil was discovered nearby, there was no boom. Even into the 1960s
the town never reclaimed its initial momentum - remaining at just
289 into the late 1960s. In recent years the town has inched toward
a population of 400 - reaching 386 for the 2000 Census. |
|
|
