RICHARDSON HISTORY

Have you ever wondered about the history of Richardson Texas?

Richardson, a residential and electronic manufacturing suburb of Dallas, is on U.S. Highway 75 and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Southern Pacific, and the St. Louis and Southwestern railroads, ten miles north of downtown Dallas in northern Dallas and southern Collin counties. The twenty-eight-square-mile area of Richardson has an uneven boundary surrounded by other communities, including Dallas to the northwest and south, Garland to the east and south, Plano to the north, and Murphy and Sachse to the east. The 159-acre city of Buckingham is entirely within the city limits of Richardson. Spring and Duck creeks and Cottonwood Branch run through the community.

The area of Richardson was settled by the Peters colony in the 1840s and 1850s. The area of waving grass and numerous springs was popular with early settlers, who formed the community of Breckinridge in the 1840s and 1850s. Breckinridge flourished until 1873, when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad bypassed it. Richardson was founded on the Houston and Texas Central Railway tracks. After it was built, the residents of Breckinridge moved to Richardson. William J. Wheeler, a local ginner, and Bernard Reilly donated 101 acres of land for the townsite and right-of-way for the railroad on June 23, 1873. Wheeler refused to have the community named after him, so it was called Richardson when it received a post office in 1874. There are several suggestions for the origin of the name. One is A. S. Richardson, a secretary on the H&TC. Most likely the town was named for E. H. Richardson, a contractor who built the Houston and Texas from Dallas to Denton. By 1881 Richardson was a thriving community with several stores, including general stores, groceries, and drugstores, four doctors, several cotton gins, and churches. In 1886 a train accident in the community killed one man, and when the sugar car overturned, spilling sugar on the tracks, residents took it home in buckets.

In the early years of the twentieth century Richardson grew rapidly. It had a population of 147 in 1904, but by 1925 it had more than doubled to 400. By 1901 the community had its first newspaper, the Richardson Register. Transportation improved in Richardson with the arrival of the Interurban, an electric railroad, on its way from Sherman to Dallas. In 1909 the community's streets were gravelled, and Dallas County built a gravel road in that decade from Dallas to the Collin county line. Around the same time telephones were available in the community, and electric lights were in use. By 1914 there were four churches, a bank, a weekly paper, the Richardson Echo, and a number of stores. Schools continued to improve in Richardson, and in 1914 a new eight-room brick school was built to replace the four-room frame school. In 1915 Richardson had its own community brass band, and the practices and concerts were an important social event. The band disbanded in 1917, when many of its members left to fight in World War I. After the upheaval of the war, the community continued to prosper in the 1920s.

In 1922 the first official Richardson fair was held to promote interest in agriculture and livestock. It began as a purely agricultural fair, but eventually special events were scheduled at fair time and local businesses had exhibits. The fair continued to grow and prosper and still took place in the 1970s. In 1924 a tornado in the community killed one man, injured thirteen, and destroyed nine houses, a school, and several barns and shacks. That same year more traffic was generated, the population grew, and property values began to rise, when the Red Brick Road, later called Greenville Avenue, was completed. In 1925 Richardson incorporated and elected T. F. McKamy as the first mayor under a commission form of city government. The community continued its improvements with a public waterworks and the formation of a volunteer fire department in 1926. The next year the Richardson and Addison High schools were consolidated, and all the students attended school in Richardson. The population of Richardson continued to slowly rise from 400 in 1925, before the Great Depression, to 720 shortly before World War II, when the community had thirty-five businesses. After World War II the area began to expand. Nearby communities, such as Northern Hills, were annexed. In spite of improvements Richardson remained a sleepy farming community until the 1950s.

In 1952 Richardson had a population of 1,288 and forty-five businesses, and by 1961 the population was 16,810. Technological industries, such as Collins Radio in 1951, began moving into Richardson, and later in the decade Texas Instruments opened near Richardson's border. The community began to be known as the "electronic suburb." Other improvements in the 1950s included the formation of a police department, Terrace Park, and a community center. The arrival of Central Expressway (U.S. Highway 75) in 1954 allowed Richardson to become a suburb of Dallas, with shopping centers replacing the cotton fields. In 1956 a home rule charter and a council-manager form of government was adopted. Mail was delivered door-to-door. During the 1960s land along the northern border was annexed, and industrial parks were developed. A number of businesses opened, including twenty-two manufacturing firms, making such things as machine parts, space tracking systems, and television cameras.

The population of Richardson was 43,900 in 1970. Richardson was a popular suburb for upper income college-educated professionals. Education was a focus for the community, and the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies opened there in 1964. It became the University of Texas at Dallas in 1969. By 1966 there were seventeen elementary, five junior high, and three senior high schools. Community services included four banks, a hospital, thirty-one churches of fourteen denominations, and nine parks. Richardson experienced another boom in the early 1980s, which slowed before business again expanded in 1989 with the influx of telecommunication firms. Because of this its nickname, the "electronic city," was replaced by "Telecom Corridor."

The racial makeup in 1980 was 95 percent White, with the rest primarily Hispanic. The city was protected by 139 police officers and 134 firemen. It had twelve banks and sixteen religious denominations. The Richardson Independent School District operated thirty-seven elementary, nine middle or junior high, and four high schools, with a total student population of 32,695. There were two schools of higher learning, the University of Texas at Dallas and Richland Community College. In addition to all the entertainment in the Dallas area Richardson had its own symphony orchestra, and the Christmas Parade was an annual event. Dining was popular in Richardson's 400 restaurants. Several museums were located in the community, including Owens Spring Creek Farm, a showcase farm with vintage sausage-making equipment, and the University of Texas at Dallas Aviation Collection. By 1990 Richardson had 102 manufacturing firms, with an emphasis on electronics and telecommunications.

Residential growth boomed through the 1970s. Forty percent of the homes in Richardson were built between 1970 and 1979. While housing development declined during the 1980s, the City’s commercial development continued to increase. Commercial activity peaked in 1984, with commercial site plan approvals exceeding 5 million square feet. Residential and commercial development peaked in the 1980s, but both have continued to grow steadily. The 1990 Census counted the population of Richardson at 74,840, while the 2010 estimated population stood at 99,223.

Today the City is no longer the bedroom community of the ’50s and ’60s, but is itself at the heart of a significant employment center, the Telecom Corridor© area. More than 88,000 people work in the City of Richardson each day.

Richardson is one of the most conveniently located communities in the Metroplex, with access to points in all directions via both major roadways and the DART rail system.

The north and southbound Central Expressway (US75), the main artery of the City of Dallas, transverses the City. Interstate 635, also called LBJ Freeway, is to its immediate south and the Bush Turnpike spans the northern border of the City, giving Richardson residents easy access to points east and west. Richardson hosts four DART light rail stations: at Spring Valley, Arapaho, Galatyn Park and Bush Turnpike. Though an inner ring suburb, Richardson continues to be a vibrant community, kept current by the Richardson City Council’s emphasis on economic development and neighborhood integrity. Voter-approved bond programs in 2006 and 2010 have contributed to the maintenance and improvement of the City’s infrastructure as well as its quality of life.

The 2006 bond election brought construction of a new recreation center on the east side of the City, as well as new ballfield complexes at Huffhines and Breckinridge parks. A new fire station was reconstructed on the west side to replace an aging, outdated public service facility. In 2010, voters approved funding for a new fire station on the east side of the City and construction of a new recreation and aquatics center on the west side and new construction of a gymnastics center centrally located on Arapaho Road, just east of Central Expressway.

But Richardson isn’t only about living and working. The City also has a statewide reputation as a great place to play, with the nationally recognized Wildflower! Festival held each May and the highly regarded Cottonwood Arts Festival held the first weekend of each May and October. The City of Richardson is the envy of its suburban neighbors with its state-of-the-art Eisemann Center for Performing Arts which opened to high acclaim in 2002 and continues to bring nationally recognized entertainers and shows to the area each year through its Eisemann Center Presents series while offering a first-rate facility for local arts groups and corporations.

The City of Richardson has been recognized for its economic stability and strong fiscal management by credit rating agencies, with both Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s giving the City their highest ratings.