Early Existence (1856-1873)
On 2 February 1856, Dallas was granted a town charter during the Regular session of the Sixth Texas Legislature. Samuel Pryor was elected the first mayor along with a constable, a treasurer-recorder, and six aldermen. By 1860, the town's population reached 678, including 97 African Americans as well as Belgians, French, Germans, and Swiss. By that year, the railroad was approaching from the south, and several stage lines were already passing through the city.
In July 1860, a fire broke out in the square, destroying most of the buildings in the business district of Dallas. Many residents assumed that slaves were behind it and two abolitionists were run out of town. Three African-American slaves were hung, and all other slaves in Dallas were ordered to be whipped. On the eve of the Civil War in 1861, Dallas County voted 741-237 in favor of secession. On 8 June of that year, a state of war was declared, and citizens were very supportive of the effort. The town was a long way from actual battle, and received no damage from the war.
The Reconstruction period brought many challenges for Dallas. On 19 June 1865 (Juneteenth), Texan slaves were liberated. Many African Americans came to Dallas after the war because the city was still prosperous compared to many other Southern cities. Freedmen's towns were scattered throughout Dallas and many whites became fearful — the Ku Klux Klan first appeared in the city in 1868. By 1871, Dallas legally became a city.
Notable Civil War veterans include William W. Ross. The Dallas Morning News states that, “William W. and Andrew J. Ross were early land owners who came to Dallas in 1866. One was a Civil War veteran, but, both men were farmers and real estate developers.” Ross Avenue is named in honor of the two brothers and bisects the land they formerly owned. In 2009, a Nevada based clergy group proposed that Ross Avenue be renamed after the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi.
The major north-south (Houston and Texas Central Railroad) and east-west (Texas and Pacific Railway) Texas railroad routes intersected in Dallas in 1873, thus ensuring its future as a commercial center. The arrival of the trains also meant soaring populations — the population of Dallas shot from 3,000 in early 1872 to more than 7,000 in September of the same year. New buildings and new businesses appeared daily. Dallas was now the epicenter of the markets for raw materials like grains and cotton that was being shipped to the south and east. It was also the "last chance" for people traveling west to get supplies.
Read more about this topic: History Of Dallas
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