Built on success year after year.
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Celebrate With Us
History Stories
Starting in January, the City will release stories detailing Richardson’s past.
Events
There will be various event opportunites throughout the Celebration.
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Are you a group or individual looking to volunteer? Are you a business or organization looking to propose an idea? Please fill out a quick form to connect with the City.
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News
Richardson’s Growth in the Mid-20th Century and Its Role in the Space Race
When it was founded in 1873, Richardson was a railroad town surrounded by farmland. Richardson grew slowly over the subsequent decades until the 1950s, when Richardson’s first period of explosive growth began.
Historic Fire Truck Can Be Seen Each Year During Annual Christmas Parade
While most fire engines are sold at the end of their “useful” lives to recoup costs, Engine 4 was “rescued” by the community it had long protected.
A Look at Richardson’s Beginnings
As Richardson celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2023, it is important to look back at where the city came from. From its founding in 1873 as a small railroad town to its current-day status as a city that is home to businesses and institutions that help develop the technology that changes the world, a lot has happened over the past 150 years.
150th Anniversary Kicks Off
The City will host several events and provide in-depth coverage of Richardson’s century-and-a-half history.
Events
History
In the 1840s, settlers from Tennessee and Kentucky began arriving in the Richardson area, which was inhabited by Comanche and Caddo Indian tribes. Several of the earliest families clustered around an area later named Breckinridge. The town was situated near what is now Richland College and consisted of a general store, a blacksmith shop and the Floyd Inn.
After the Civil War, the railroad bypassed Breckinridge, and an area to the northwest of Breckinridge became the new center of activity. Bernard Reilly and William J. Wheeler provided land for the town site and railroad right-of-way. The town was named for A.S. Richardson, the secretary of the Houston & Texas Central Railway.
Richardson was founded in 1873 and was generally situated between present-day Greer and Phillips streets on the north and south, and between Central Expressway and Greenville Avenue on the west and east, although a small segment did lie west of Central Expressway’s present alignment. Originally, there were three businesses: a general store, a post office and a drug store…