Lancaster Historic Neighborhood District in Dallas County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
The Town of Lancaster
Photographed by Mansfieldphoto.com, March 22, 2026
1. The Town of Lancaster Marker
Founded by A. Bledsoe (1801 - 1882), from Kentucky, joined by his son-in-law, Roderick A. Rawlins (1833 - 1910), and Mrs. Mildred Parks Rawlins (1789 - 1875). The elder Rawlins family came to this locality in 1844. Bledsoe, later to become Texas State Comptroller, settled here in 1846. With the Rawlins' cooperation, he established this town about 1852, patterning and naming it after the Kentucky town founded by his grandfather. Stores, a school, churches, a grist mill, tannery, cotton gin, and carding mill soon were built in or near the 1-square-mile townsite. During the Civil War (1860s), a Confederate pistol factory was operated here. After 1876, a town well on the Square provided water for citizens and visitors. The first railroad arrived in 1888, another in 1890.
Randolph College, an enterprise of one of the Texas Christian University founders, Randolph Clark, operated here 1898 - 1900. Other schools used the college plant until it burned in 1912. Fires also destroyed some sections of this Square in 1877, 1889, and 1918.
During its first century, Lancaster was a farmers' market town -- its fortunes fluctuating with yields and prices of cotton. Since 1950, a broader economy prevails, and the population has increased.
Erected 1974 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 6754.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 32° 35.529′ N, 96° 45.357′ W. Marker is in Lancaster, Texas, in Dallas County. It is in the the Lancaster Historic Neighborhood District. It is at the intersection of South Centre Avenue and E. Main Street, on the left when traveling south on South Centre Avenue. The marker is in the traffic circle in the center of old downtown Lancaster. Touch for map.
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Regionally, this marker is in the Prairies & Lakes Region and in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Recreation (within shouting distance of this marker); Transportation (within shouting distance of this marker); Disasters (within shouting distance of this marker); Memories (within shouting distance of this marker); Houses (within shouting distance of this marker); Early Medical History (within shouting distance of this marker); "Big A" Bledsoe (within shouting distance of this marker); M.M. Miller and Pleasant Run (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lancaster.
Photographed by Kayla Harper, July 6, 2020
2. The Town of Lancaster Marker
Photographed by Kayla Harper, July 6, 2020
3. The Town of Lancaster Marker
Photographed by Kayla Harper, July 6, 2020
4. The Town of Lancaster Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 9, 2020, by Kayla Harper of Dallas, Texas. This page has been viewed 892 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 13, 2026, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 9, 2020, by Kayla Harper of Dallas, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
