HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

City of Crandall

Crandall, Kaufman County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Named for The Rev. C. F. Crandall (1827-1906), Methodist minister who came here from Indiana, 1877, and bought 1800 acres of land. When Texas Trunk Line Railroad built east from Dallas in 1880, he gave bonus for rail service and was first postmaster when post office was created in 1881. Baptists, Disciples of Christ, and Methodists built churches. Townsite plat was recorded in 1889. The city school system was established in 1901. By the early 1900s, town had a lumber yard, several stores, 3 physicians, 3 banks. It remains a center for agriculture and recreation. (1971)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Named for Methodist minister C.F. Crandall, who arrived from Indiana in 1877 and bought 1,800 acres, the town took off when the Texas Trunk Line Railroad built east from Dallas in 1880. Crandall gave a bonus for rail service and became the first postmaster; churches, schools, stores, and banks soon followed as the town grew into an agricultural center.

Why it matters

Countless American towns were literally put on the map by the railroad, which turned raw prairie into commercial communities.

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Related people

  • · C. F. Crandall

Themes & tags

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