Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located in northeast Collin County and positioned between Desert and Pilot Grove Creeks, Blue Ridge was named for its hilltop location and the blue-flowering grass in the area. From a distance, the grass looked like a blue haze. Pioneers began to settle this area in the 1830s. Deed records date back to Matthew Mowry who received a Republic of Texas land grant for services in the war for Independence from Mexico. Other early settlers were Isadore Boren, who settled seven miles southeast of town in present-day Arnold Community, Wilson McDonald, John Bowman and W.C. Holmes, the first doctor. In the 1870s, the first store in a one-room log cabin opened just south of the town square, operated by William and James Moyers. Other early establishments were a one-room school, the Blue Ridge Masonic Lodge No. 490 and the J.A. Barnett Cotton Gin, along with the variety store, dentist office, Blue Ridge National Bank and hardware store on the town square. Many people in the area were farmers and ranchers and flocked to the two gins located here. Raising cotton, corn, wheat, oats, hay and cattle provided the livelihood for many. The first Methodist church was organized in 1880 and the first Baptist church organized in 1885. Citizens recall an active Church of Christ as early as 1890. Until 1895, all church services were held in the schoolhouse, with each denomination taking turns. In 1937, the high school was constructed with works progress administration labor. With an increase in population, new schools and businesses have been established as the beautiful countryside of Blue Ridge continues to attract people to the area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for the blue-flowering grass that hazed its hilltop between Desert and Pilot Grove Creeks, Blue Ridge drew pioneers beginning in the 1830s, including Republic of Texas land-grantee Matthew Mowry and the area's first doctor, W.C. Holmes. The Moyers brothers opened the first store—a one-room log cabin—in the 1870s, soon joined by a school, a Masonic lodge, cotton gins, a bank, and shops around the town square. Farmers and ranchers raising cotton, corn, and cattle sustained the town, whose 1937 high school was built with WPA labor.
Why it matters
Blue Ridge traces the full frontier-to-town arc of Blackland Prairie settlement, from Republic-era land grants to a New Deal schoolhouse.
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Related people
- · Matthew Mowry
- · Isadore Boren
- · W.C. Holmes
- · William Moyers
- · James Moyers
Themes & tags
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