Early Historical Formation of Benbrook Texas
Before the rise of Anglo settlers, huge herds of buffalo and members of the Wichita, Caddo, Comanche, and Lipan Apache Indian tribes roamed the Benbrook area. Archaeologists estimate that the region has been inhabited for about 11,000 years. Indian tribes seek the same environmental elements as modern communities, with the accessibility of a sufficient water supply being a primary concern. Indeed, the merging of the Clear Fork-Trinity River and Mary’s Creek provided such a water source for tribes when they passed through the region on hunting expeditions.
Anglo-Saxons initially settled the Benbrook location, part of the Peters Colony founded by the Republic of Texas, in the 1850s. W.S. Peters of Kentucky was awarded a contract to bring in 250 families per year by providing 320 acres free to family men and 160 acres to individual immigrants, plus a free cabin, seed, and musket balls.
Evidently a branch of the “Old Chisholm Trail” passed through the area, crossing Mary’s Creek at Old Rawhide Crossing at the location of today’s Z. Boaz Park, and served as a route to avoid the main trail route through downtown Fort Worth. . A secondary trail, known as the Long Trail or the Cleburne Cut-Off, extended from Raw Hide Crossing to Cleburne and reduced the journey by 13 miles.
In 1876, local resident James M. Benbrook petitioned the Texas & Pacific Railroad to place a railroad station along Mary’s Creek near Miranda, as the railroad ran west from Fort Worth. The line was completed to Benbrook in May 1880, and the station was named Benbrook Station after the railway.
By the turn of the century, some of the earliest transportation canals were established that are still in use today, as shown in an 1894 U.S. survey. The Texas and Pacific Railroad is currently in charge of Union Pacific and travels along Mary’s and Walnut Creeks. .
The main settlement of Benbrook, located within a four-block area near the railroad station, was situated adjacent to the present interchange of Interstate Highway 20 and US Highway 377 along Aledo Rd. The settlement was reached from the east via present-day Old Benbrook Road and Stove Foundry Road (now called Vickery). Winscott-Plover Road extended south along its current route to Dutch Branch, now submerged by Lake Benbrook. One road led east from Winscott-Plover Road near present-day Mercedes Street to cross the Clear Fork. Remnants of this county road are still evident in the undeveloped area north of Timber Creek.
