The Interurban in Burleson
Burleson, Johnson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
At the turn of the 20th century, the Northern Texas Traction Co. found success with an interurban railway that operated between Fort Worth and Dallas. In 1911, a group began planning a new interurban that would run from Fort Worth to Cleburne by way of Everman, Burleson and Joshua. By that time, Burleson had approximately 700 residents and an active business district, and the city incorporated in 1912. The Fort Worth Southern Traction Co. came to town that year seeking employees and arranged with businessman and community leader Albert H. Loyless to be their local representative. He moved his Loyless-Robbins Pharmacy from a two-story wooden building across the street to a new brick building at this site. The traction company constructed an electrical plant and freight dock behind the building, and the pharmacy, complete with soda fountain and interurban ticket counter, occupied the front of the orange-brick structure. The first public run of the electrical train line came through Burleson on September 1, 1912. From that date until 1931, the train carried people in and out of town, brought goods to them from other cities, and helped make the pharmacy a community center. In 1935, a few years after the interurban ceased its service and motor coaches and automobiles took its place, Loyless, accepting the position of Burleson postmaster, moved his business next door to the post office. Robert Deering bought the former pharmacy building and from it published his newspaper, the Burleson News (later Burleson Dispatcher). The city later purchased the building for use as a visitors center. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
At the turn of the 20th century, electric interurban railways knit north Texas together, and in 1912 a new line from Fort Worth to Cleburne reached the growing town of Burleson. A local pharmacy became the hub of it all, housing the ticket counter and soda fountain while trains hauled people and goods in and out of town. When automobiles and motor coaches displaced the interurban in the early 1930s, the line went quiet, but the brick building lived on as a newspaper office and later a visitors center.
Why it matters
The interurban era briefly gave small towns fast, electric connections to their cities — a transportation revolution later erased by the automobile.
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Related people
- · Albert H. Loyless
- · Robert Deering
Themes & tags
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