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Dublin, Texas
History
From Handbook of
Texas Online:
Dublin is on U.S. highways 67 and 377 in southwest Erath
County. It was founded in 1854 by A. H. Dobkins and named in 1860,
probably for the warning cry at Indian raids, "Double In," for the
capital of Ireland, or for the double-log cabins used by early settlers.
Growth increased in 1874 as Dublin acquired stagecoach service and
a post office. In 1881 the Texas Central Railroad was built through
to Mount Airy, a few miles from Dublin. J. D. Bishop laid out a townsite
on the line four miles south of Mount Airy, which drew residents from
old to new Dublin. Within a year the new Dublin had forty-five businesses
and sixty-five homes, so the railroad moved its depot from Mount Airy
to new Dublin. The town was incorporated on March 18, 1889. By 1890
the population was 2,025. It was 2,370 in 1900, 2,271 in 1930, 2,746
in 1950, 2,810 in 1970, 2,723 in 1980, and 3,190 in 1990. The town
is a center for agriculture and industry, including oil and gas production,
clothing factories, peanut shelling and drying plants, feed mills,
milk processing, saddle and rope making, and metal stamping. Dublin
has two city parks, the Lyon Museum, a public library, a hospital,
and a nursing home. It also has an airport, two railroads, a golf
course, and recreational facilities at Proctor Reservoir. The town
was one of the first in the state to have streetcars. It is the birthplace
of golfer Ben Hogan, home of a world-championship rodeo, and the former
home of the annual Grand Army of the Republic reunion.
William
R. Hunt, “Dublin, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed October
09, 2021, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/dublin-tx.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association. |
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Dublin
Attractions
Dr
Pepper Bottling Co. Museum - 221 S. Patrick
|
Dr Pepper Museum
in Dublin
Photo
courtesy Teri
Brown, December 2004 |
Historical Marker
(on 105 E. Elm Street):
Dublin Dr Pepper
Bottling Company
Sam Houston Prim
(1863-1946) arrived in Dublin in 1891 with $680 worth of bottling
equiment, purchasing property at the southeast corner of Patrick and
Elm streets to house his bottling works. Prim bottled Dr Pepper, along
with other products, under an informal agreement until 1925, when
he formally chose as a Dr Pepper distribution territory a 44-mile
radius centered on Dublin -- an area that remains as the company's
territory today.
At the time of Prim's death, Dr Pepper executives noted that he had
bottled the soft drink longer than any other individual. The company
has remained in operation since that time, making it the oldest Dr
Pepper bottler in the world.
(2009) |
Drink a Bite
to Eat
Dr Pepper
Good for Life
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2004 |
Dublin, Texas
Chronicles
A
History of the "Other " Dublin
by Mike Cox
For reasons she apparently did not think necessary to explain in her
book, early in the second decade of the 20th century, Sarah Catherine
Shivers Lattimore began gathering information on the history of her
community.
She interviewed old-timers who remembered Erath
County when it was organized in 1856 by men “in love with the
freedom of the prairies, filled with enthusiasm over the possibilities
for successful stock raising and consequent wealth, lured by the cheapness
of the unoccupied land, were eager to avail themselves of such advantages.”
In addition, she paged through the musty pages of early newspapers.
Her endeavors culminated in “Incidents in the History of Dublin Gathered
from Participants and Eye-Witnesses,” a 65-page booklet privately
published in 1914. Anyone who didn’t know better would think it dealt
with the history of Ireland’s major city, but Mrs. Lattimore’s Dublin
is in West Central Texas, not the Emerald Isle.... more
The McDow Hole by Bob Hopkins
"The story of the McDow ghost became very popular by the end
of the 19th century ... many people would come to the water hole hoping
to get a glimpse of the specter."
"...The Hickey family would witness such strange events in and
around the McDow water hole on Green’s Creek, south of Dublin in Erath
County, for the next three decades. These and many more ghostly
happenings have been recorded over the last 135 years at McDow Hole,
the first being recorded after the murder of a young mother and her
baby about 1865. ..." more
Dr Pepper Cartoon
by Roger Todd Moore |
Dr. Pepper billboard
in Dublin, Texas
Photos
courtesy Teri Brown, December 2004 |
Dublin, Texas
Forum
Subject:
Dublin and Stephenville
I lived in Stephenville during my highschool years, 1959 through
1963, during which time I met my lifetime-long friend, Kay (McCarty)
Rowe. Her father ran the little cafe right next to the Dr. Pepper
Bottling Company; "Buster" McCarty was Kay's dad. I found out (gossip)
that she had dated my boyfriend, Fred, and driving the 14 miles
to Dublin "on the warpath" I was certainly going to find her. I
did meet-up with Kay at the local drive-in restaurant and proceeded
to beat her up. Can you imagine two little 13 and 14 year-old girls
fighting it out on Highway 377 over some little boy? I was so notorious
in those days, even landing in the old Stephenville Jail overnight.
However, Kay and I became such close friends and kept in touch until
she was laid to rest in Dublin in the late 90's. I miss Kay's friendship,
and have such great memories of those days in Stephenville and Dublin.
We burned up the highways and dirt roads all over Erath County.
- Carol Suzanne Ramsey, Class of '63 (although I did not graduate
from HS, I did go on to obtain several degrees at TCU), October
02, 2005
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