Burleson

History

The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, known as "the Katy", extended its service from Denison to Waco. In 1880 the segment from Fort Worth to Alvarado was being laid out, and a midway depot was needed. Grenville M. Dodge, representing the railroad, purchased land for the depot and a town surrounding it from Rev. Henry C. Renfro at the site of what is now called "Old Town" Burleson. As part of the agreement, Renfro named the town "Burleson", in honor of his teacher Rufus Columbus Burleson, the president of Baylor University. The first lot was sold on October 10, 1880, the date now considered the city's "founding day". The Burleson Post Office opened in 1882, inside a retail establishment, as was common for small towns at the time. On February 20, 1895, a fire burned down most of the business district, along with several houses. One of the Katy workers, J. C. Jones, had stayed in Burleson and opened a water works for the town, drilling a deep well that provided dozens of hydrants for the residents, but they were not sufficient to extinguish the fire. By the end of the 1800s, Burleson was a bustling rural town, with farms all around, schools, a grocery store, cotton gins and grist mills, a general store, a druggist, a bank, and a jeweler. In 1899, a group of nine women formed a society for cultural advancement and called it the Eumathian Club. The women acquired books, loaned them, and held readings, discussions, and music recitals. In 1909 the Texas Legislature passed a bill forming the Burleson Independent School District. Construction began in 1912 of the Northern Texas Traction Company interurban line between Fort Worth and Cleburne, with Burleson as a stop along the way. The first day of service was September 1, 1912, with 1,200 passengers on the ten passenger runs…

Geography

Most of Burleson is in northern Johnson County, with a small portion extending north into Tarrant County. The city is bordered to the north by the cities of Crowley and Fort Worth, and to the southwest by the city of Joshua. The Burleson city limits extend southeast from the city center in a narrow corridor toward Alvarado along Interstate 35W. I-35W leads north to the center of Fort Worth and south to Hillsboro. Texas State Highway 174 begins at I-35W in the northern part of Burleson and runs southwest to Cleburne, the Johnson county seat. As of 2010, Burleson had a total area of , of which were land and , or 0.25%, were water. July and August are typically the hottest months, with highs averaging around and lows around . December and January are the coldest months, with highs averaging and lows around . Average annual rainfall is per year.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,294
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  7,998
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  7,454
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,709
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,141
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,309
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,224
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  5,209

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2024-05-01
  7 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-01
  7 km S of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2019-10-01
  8 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2019-07-08
  4 km SSE of Rendon, Texas
• M 3.4 — 2018-05-19
  8 km NW of Venus, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2017-09-14
  Northern Texas