Dodson

History

The city of Dodsonville was founded on July 1, 1910, by Frank Kell of Wichita Falls. The wealthy entrepreneur Kell was an important figure in promotion of the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railway, and the city was established as a stop on the Wellington Branch of the railroad. Elmore Dodson, a local pioneer and rancher, donated the town site to ensure the railroad's passing through the southeastern part of the county. Other town sites had been proposed, including the community of Arlie located southwest of Dodson, but the grant given by Mr. Dodson sealed the railroad's passage through southeastern Collingsworth County. In return, the new city was named for Dodson. A celebration was held on August 29, 1910, to commemorate the town's establishment. The gala celebration, complete with a picnic, marked the town's formal opening, and was attended by a trainload of people from Oklahoma. N. L. Jones built the first residence and opened a cotton gin. The first store was operated by William T. McDowell, who was also the first postmaster. R. H. Miller established a hotel, and the town added a bank, a telephone exchange, and two churches. Three newspapers, all called the Dodsonville News, were published intermittently by three different men between January 1911 and December 1915. A fourth paper, the Dodsonville Messenger, was printed from 1928 until 1930. School was sometimes held in the churches until a permanent schoolhouse was completed in the fall of 1912; the previous school was located northwest of town. Dodson was incorporated in the 1920s and by 1930 had 25 businesses and a population of 426. Public Works Administration appropriations enabled the town to install a $52,000 water system during the 1930s, and a volunteer fire department was organized. In 1947 a new…

Geography

Dodson is located near the southeastern corner of Collingsworth County. Dodson is west of the 100th meridian west (the Texas-Oklahoma border), one mile (1.6 km) north of the Childress County line, southeast of Wellington and northwest of Hollis, Oklahoma. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dodson has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  136
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

  Tyrannus forficatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  97
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  85
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  70
• American Kestrel

  Falco sparverius Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  68
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  57
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  54

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2022-01-16
  8 km NW of Wheeler, Texas
• M 3.5 — 2021-08-09
  4 km N of Wheeler, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2021-08-08
  3 km N of Wheeler, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2019-01-13
  3 km NE of Wheeler, Texas
• M 2.6 — 2014-12-29
  16 km E of Memphis, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2013-04-26
  3 km SE of Wheeler, Texas