Hebron, Texas, an absorbed ghost town. (original) (raw)
Denton County, Central Texas North
33� 1' 42" N, 96� 53' 55" W (33.028333, -96.898611)
Intersection of FM 3040 (Hebron Parkway) and
FM 544 (West Park Boulevard)
21 miles SE of Denton the county seat
22 miles NE of Dallas
Population: 215 Est. (2019)
415 (2010) 874 (2000) 1,128 (1990) 385 (1980)Book Hotel Here › Denton Hotels
HEBRON, TX
Handbook of Texas:
"Hebron, twenty-one miles southeast of Denton in southeast Denton County, was founded in the vicinity of the old Bridges Settlement of 1843. It was named for the Biblical town of Hebron. By 1890 the community had a post office. In 1902 the Red River, Texas and Southern (now Burlington Northern) Railway built through the town. At one time Hebron had three cotton gins. It was incorporated briefly in the mid-1960s, but it was not permanently incorporated until the mid-1970s. Economic development between Dallas and Denton spurred the population in Hebron to 486 in 1975. In 1980 the population was 385. The aggressive annexation policies pursued by Carrollton and Plano placed limits on the ability of Hebron to expand geographically. In 1990 the population was 1,128, and in 2000 it was 874."
David Minor, �Hebron, TX (Denton County),� Handbook of Texas Online, accessed October 12, 2023, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/hebron-tx-denton-county. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Remnants of old township - First Street scene
Photo by Robin Jett, 10-2004
HEBRON � A Ghost Town That Isn�t
by Robin Jett
December 11, 2004
Smack-dab in the suburban sprawl between Plano and Carrollton
At intersection of FM 3040 (Hebron Parkway) and FM 544 (West Park Boulevard) 22 miles northeast of Dallas
Suburban sprawl have taken over the vast prairies north of Dallas, and nowhere is that more evident than when one wants to find the remains of towns that have simply vanished under concrete and incorporation aspirations. Renner in Dallas County is a good example of one of these lost towns: today it exists only as the name of a busy thoroughfare. Its 1888 school graces the collection of buildings on display at Old City Park near downtown Dallas, and that�s pretty much all you�ll be able to find of this old farming community.
Hebron is another lost town. The town exists, at least in theory - an impressive beaux-arts church still graces the crossroads that mark the town, and First Street retains some old store facades (now in disuse). But because of the development of extreme southeastern Denton County � Hebron lies so close to the sprawl of Plano that if you spit, you�re liable to hit someone�s Prada shoes � the town is nothing more than a speck in the road.
Hebron, the earliest settlement in Denton County, came to life as an offshoot of the Peters Colony, a group of land hungry pioneers who were the first Anglos to attempt farming on the Grand Prairie. By 1890, Hebron had a post office, and the tracks laid in the early 20th century are still in use today. At the height of its township, Hebron had a population of 468. But with aggressive suburban growth threatening it from all sides, Hebron found its growth limited. Today its hemmed in by both Plano and Carrollton, and due to their sprawl, Hebron is now more populated than ever.
So, Hebron technically still exits. The street that runs through it � FM 3040 � bears its name. The church is well attended, though a slew of mega-churches have popped up all around it, siphoning off at least a few parishioners. The new high school, completed in 1999 and part of the Lewisville Independent School District, is named after the little town. On a detailed city or county map, you can even identify Hebron�s boundaries. But the town itself, from which flowed the majority of Anglo settlement of Denton County, is now but a distant memory.
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Robin Jett
December 11, 2004
Denton County 1920s map showing Hebron
in the SE near Collin County line
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office
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