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History
in a Pecan Shell
Originally named
Miranda, the community came into being in the late 1850s. The
fledgling town was renamed Benbrook for the efforts of James
M. Benbrook, an Indianan who arrived here in 1874. Benbrook convinced
the Texas and Pacific Railroad to lay tracks through Miranda, which
was accomplished in 1876.
In 1880, Benbrook was granted a post office and the town sat content
for many years watching the trains come and go. Around the turn of
the 20th Century, someone asked the question "Shouldn't these kids
be in school?" and by 1905 Benbrook had a single teacher teaching
(or trying to teach) 64 students.
Despite the overcrowded school, Benbrook remained tiny. How tiny?
As late as the mid-1920s, the population was still only 20 people.
Benbrook's business growth was affected by the town's proximity to
Fort Worth and it
wasn't until after WWII
when real growth picked up.
From a population of 100 in the late 1940s, Benbrook was boasting
over 600 citizens ten years later.
A reservoir was constructed in the early 1950s and also named after
the man who had transformed the village that had once been called
Miranda. By the mid-1960s, the whole region was booming and Benbrook's
share of the population was recorded as 3,300. Twenty years later
it was up to nearly 10,000 and the 1990 census was around 19,500.
The 2000 census put the count at 20,208. |
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Tarrant
County
1940s map
showing Benbrook
(SW of Fort Worth) near Parker
County line
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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