Blue Ridge, Texas, Collin County. (original) (raw)

Blue Ridge Coca Cola Mural
Photo courtesy Mike Price, 2007

History in a Pecan Shell

Texas Revolution veteran Matthiss Mowry was the original owner of what was to become Blue Ridge through a Republic land grant. The town itself wasn�t established until 1876 when a post office was established. The name reportedly coming from a topographical feature and the abundant blue flowers.

By 1877 a cotton gin, sawmill, and gristmill were in operation. The population was near 400 by 1900 and by 1915 it had reached 600.

The town was struck by a killer tornado on October 8, 1919, taking seven lives and doing substantial damage. In just ten years there was hardly a trace of the damage and the population was climbing back toward its 1915 levels with 450 residents. Streets were paved and the town had all utility infrastructure in place for 1930.

On the eve of WWII, the population was 400 but although it fared well through the Great Depression, the postwar years weren�t as kind. It fell into a comfortable lull of between 400-500 residents from the late 70s to the present (2000) 672.

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