Lewisville History Timeline

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1841	The Republic of Texas gives a grant to the Texas Emigration and Land Company to bring 600 families to what is now Denton County. Each family was to receive 640 acres of land, with bachelors receiving 320 acres.
1844	The Holford and King families were the first to settle in the area of modern-day Lewisville, naming it the Holford Prairie Settlement.
1846	Denton County forms.
1846	The first church is built in Lewisville, also the county’s first Masonic Lodge.
1855	Basdeal Lewis buys the Holford land and lays out a town that he names for himself. The first Lewisville Post Office is established.
1857	On Jan. 23, the Grand Lodge of Texas issues a charter for Denton Masonic Lodge #201, which then buys five acres of land at the current location of Old Hall Cemetery for a two-story lodge, church and school.
1862	Three men (Rawlins, Kealy and Herod) build a gristmill on the site of the former Sonic restaurant
1867	T. M. Clayton and George Craft build the first cotton gin in Denton County.
1875	The Dallas & Wichita Railroad reaches its northernmost point, about one mile south of Lewisville.
1877	The first public school in Lewisville, Lewisville School Community No. 14, is chartered. Five days later, Lewisville Colored School Community No. 50 is chartered.
1881	The Wichita Railroad extends to about two miles east of the settlement, causing a gradual shifting of the community to the area now known as Old Town.
1883	Lewisville’s population reaches 300 people.
1885	The building currently housing the Greater Lewisville Community Theater is constructed on Main Street. This is the city’s oldest standing structure
1886	A livery stable and feed mill opens on Main Street. Lewisville Feed Mill was the city’s longest continuously operating business when it closed in late 2011.
1891	Overton Littleton Hamilton starts the city’s first newspaper, the Lewisville Enterprise.
1891	Bonds are issued, and construction begins on the first public school in Lewisville.
1895	Fire destroys the north side of Main Street, from west to east. After the fire, a group of businessmen forms the Lewisville Water Company with a well, standpipe tower and running water to serve Main Street.
1897	Lewisville High School opens.
1900	Lewisville’s population is about 500 people. The first electrical line is installed.
1908	Historic flooding of the Trinity River, which left much of Dallas under water, also impacts Lewisville. Many local residents are stuck in treetops until they can be picked up by boat. No local deaths are reported.
1909	The first bank robbery in Denton County is staged at First National Bank of Lewisville when a group of robbers uses dynamite to open safes and steal about $6,500. They fled on a railroad handcar, but two were caught shortly thereafter.
1912	Fire breaks out in a hotel on the north side of Main Street and eventually spreads to six other buildings. One man dies when he runs back inside the hotel for his wallet.
1913	The first car is brought to Lewisville, purchased by a local doctor.
1918	Fire again strikes the north side of Main Street, starting at the First National Bank building and moving east to west along Main Street through six brick buildings and several wooden structures. This fire provided the impetus for incorporation.
1921	State Rep. Charles G. Thomas of Lewisville is elected Speaker of the Texas House. He served as Speaker for one session. He died in 1937 and is buried in Old Hall Cemetery.
1924	Construction begins on Garza Dam; Lake Dallas is finished three years later, providing a fresh water source for Dallas.
1924	In September, hundreds witness a small plane crash on the outskirts of Lewisville in which local passenger Owen Meadows is killed and the Fort Worth pilot is injured.
1925	Lewisville’s population is 815 people. Residents vote, 109-92, on January 15 to incorporate and the Lewisville Town Council holds its first official meeting on March 16, presided over by Mayor Martin D. Fagg, owner of Fagg's Dry Goods.
1925	The new Town Council adopts its first ordinance on March 16, regulating medicine shows and establishing fees.
1927	The city completes construction of its first public building, the Well House, at the corner of Church Street and Poydras Street.
1927	The city hires its first police officer and fire firefighter, creating the positions of Night Watchman and Fire Marshal.
1927	J.L. Huffines, a Denton car dealer, opens the first automobile dealership in Lewisville. Huffines Motor Company operated at the corner of Main and Mill streets in a building that still stands.
1929	Newspaper publisher Jack Lewis elected as mayor.
1930	Listed separately in a U.S. Census for the first time, Lewisville has a population of 853 people. Index of 1930 Census.
1930	Lake Dallas freezes over with a sheet of ice covering the entire lake surface and measuring three inches thick on the south end near the dam. One lake visitor drives a Studebaker onto the ice, losing the vehicle when it breaks through the ice and sinks to the bottom of the lake
1931	Hotel manager William H. Prague elected as mayor.
1931	Construction begins on the Denton-Dallas Highway, later named U.S. Highway 77. The city’s first known traffic fatality is reported that year on the new highway.
1931	State Rep. Fred H. Minor of Lewisville is elected Speaker of the Texas House. He served as Speaker for one session. He died in 1976 and is buried at Roselawn Memorial Park in Denton.
1932	Arthur Hayes appointed as mayor; elected to the office in 1933.
1934	Members of the Barrow Gang (minus its infamous leaders, Bonnie & Clyde, who had visited town earlier in the year) rob the First National Bank of Lewisville.
1940	Lewisville’s population is 873 people.
1941	M.H. "Horace" Milliken elected as mayor.
1942	The city’s first traffic signal is installed, at the corner of Main Street and Federal Highway 77 (Mill Street). The signal is operated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. by an employee of Huffines Motor Company.
1946	A man robs Lewisville State Bank on Mill Street and flees on foot past Lewisville High School, where he is pursued by members of the Farmers football team. He is captured minutes later, and the stolen money is recovered. The Farmers won the district title that year with a 10-2 record.
1948	Construction begins on Lewisville Dam.
1949	Conrad E. Duwe elected as mayor.
1950	Lewisville’s population is 1,516 people.
1951	Main Street and Church Street are paved for the first time. Several other downtown streets quickly followed.
1953	F.C. Connor elected as mayor.
1954	Lewisville Dam is completed, expanding the Garza-Little Elm Reservoir into Lewisville Lake, covering 29,592 acres of surface area and reaching a maximum depth of 67 feet.
1955	Congress passes a bill authored by Rep. Frank Ikard that officially assigns the name “Lewisville Dam,” although the Corps of Engineers does not change the name of the lake until 1971.
1956	Lewisville City Hall and a Post Office (a single building, since removed) are built on the corner of Charles and Church streets.
1957	Tom W. Beasley, owner of Beasley's Jewelry Store, elected as mayor.
1958	F.C. Connor elected as mayor.
1960	Lewisville’s population is 3,956 people.
1962	An episode of the “Route 66” television show is filmed in Lewisville, which was renamed “Kilkenny” for the program. The episode aired in April on CBS.
1963	Voters opt to become a Home Rule City by a vote of 225-26. John C. Dodson hired as the city’s first professional city manager.
1963	Bill R. Weaver elected as mayor.
1963	Lewisville becomes one of the first cities in Texas to integrate its school system, although black high school students still were bused to an “all-Negro” school in Denton until 1967.
1965	Garland Franks hired as city manager.
1967	Johnny Sartain hired as city manager.
1968	Lewisville High School opens its doors in a new campus at the corner of FM 1171 and Valley Parkway, west of most Lewisville development. This, combined with a major annexation the next year, started a population shift from east to west.
1969	Sam Houston elected as mayor.
1969	The Lewisville Valley area is annexed into Lewisville, adding 2,500 acres of land and hundreds of new residents.
1969	About 120,000 people come to Lewisville to attend the Texas International Pop Festival, a three-day event featuring such stars as Janis Joplin, B.B. King and Led Zeppelin.
1970	Lewisville’s population is 9,264 people.
1971	U.S. Corps of Engineers officially changes the name of Garza-Little Elm Reservoir to “Lewisville Lake,” 16 years after Congress passed a 1955 bill authored by Rep. Frank Ikard that renamed the Lewisville Dam.
1972	Lewisville High School reaches its first football state championship game, losing in the Class 3A finals to Uvalde, 33-27.
1973	David Denison elected as mayor.
1973	Construction begins on the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants.
1974	Construction begins on a hospital at the corner of Main Street and Interstate 35, currently operating as Medical City Lewisville. The hospital opened in 1976.
1974	Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport opens.
1975	The Lewisville Quintuplets, four girls and a boy, are born to Jerry and Debbie Davis on July 18, the first recorded quintuplet birth in Texas.
1976	Six years after the U.S. Corps of Engineers officially changed the name of Garza-Little Elm Reservoir to “Lewisville Lake,” and 22 years after Congress passed a 1955 bill authored by Rep. Frank Ikard, signs finally are erected proclaiming “Lewisville Lake.”
1976	Phyllis Adams is hired as Lewisville’s first female police officer.
1977	Ralph Johnson elected as mayor.
1977	Darwin McGill hired as city manager.
1979	Clarence R. Myers elected as mayor.
1980	Lewisville’s population is 24,273 people.
1981	Troy White elected as mayor.
1983	Wayne Ferguson elected as mayor.
1985	Ann Pomykal elected as mayor.
1985	Chuck Owens hired as city manager.
1987	Donny Daniel elected as mayor.
1989	Lewisville City Hall (now the Municipal Annex) and the new Lewisville Public Library open at 1197 W. Main Street.
1989	Vista Ridge Mall opens. The mall was purchased in 2017 and renamed Music City Mall Lewisville.
1990	Lewisville’s population is 46,521 people.
1991	B.C. Groves elected as mayor.
1993	Bobbie J. Mitchell elected as mayor.
1993	Lewisville High School wins its first state football championship by beating Aldine MacArthur in the finals, 43-37.
1996	Lewisville High School wins its second state football championship by beating Converse Judson, 58-24, in the finals.
1996	A portion of the Bright Ranch area east of the city is annexed into Lewisville, and the Castle Hills development is formally declared the city’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction.
1998	Claude King hired as city manager.
2000	Lewisville’s population is 77,737 people.
2000	Gene Carey elected as mayor. His 9-plus years in office make him the longest-tenured mayor in Lewisville history.
2003	Lewisville City Hall opens in Old Town, at 151 W. Church Street
2009	Dean Ueckert elected as mayor.
2010	Lewisville’s population is 95,290 people.
2011	A city-owned arts center, named Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theater through a naming rights agreement, opens its doors in Old Town.
2011	Denton County Transportation Authority starts commuter rail service between Carrollton and Denton, including three stations in Lewisville.
2014	Donna Barron hired as city manager.
2014	A group of 50 resident volunteers created, and Lewisville City Council adopted, the Lewisville 2025 vision plan with an ambitious roadmap for the city’s future.
2015	Rudy Durham elected as mayor.
2015	The rainiest May in Texas history floods rivers and lakes statewide, and Lewisville Lake peaks at a record elevation of 537.02 feet above sea level.
2016	The city's largest public park changes name to Lone Star Toyota of Lewisville after the sponsoring business changes name.
2017	The city's arts center changes name to Medical City Lewisville Grand Theater after the sponsoring hospital also changes name.
2018	Earth & Beyond, the City’s first piece of permanent public art, is installed in Old Town near the corner of Main and Charles streets.
2019	“Texas Pop turns 50” is held at Lewisville Lake Park to mark the 50th anniversary of the Texas International Pop Festival. The two-day event includes three bands that performed at the original festival and draws more than 20,000 people.
2020	Thrive, a new 87,000-square-foot multigenerational recreation center, opens.
2021	The city's arts center changes name to Lewisville Grand Theater.
2021	TJ Gilmore elected as mayor.
2021	The Castle Hills master-planned community is annexed into Lewisville, adding about 20,000 new residents.
2022	Claire Powell hired as city manager.

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Lewisville History Timeline