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History · Bardwell

Bardwell dates to 1892

Most of Bardwell was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990.

1892founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Photo: Lothar1976 · Public domain
Quick answers

How Bardwell began

When was Bardwell founded?

1892

Bardwell dates its founding to 1892 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1893.

2020 census: 625134 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1893.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bardwell’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bardwell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Bardwell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bardwell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Bardwell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bardwell.

Read it all →

The community was settled in the early 1880s when the town's namesake, John W. Bardwell, built a cotton gin one mile south of the present-day location. A school opened in 1892 and a post office was established in 1893. When the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway was routed through Ellis County in 1907, the gin and community were moved to the nearest stretch of track. The town had its own telephone system and electricity supplied by lines from Ennis in 1914. Bardwell prospered throughout the 1920s as a cotton shipping point with three gins and six grocery stores. The population grew to 650 by 1929, but the Great Depression and a subsequent drought severely impacted the community. The main road was rerouted to the new State Highway 34 in the early 1940s and most of Bardwell's businesses either closed or moved to sites along the highway. In 1958, Bardwell's school consolidated with nearby E…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bardwell, 1892 to 1937

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892
    FoundingBardwell is established
  3. 1893Post officeThe Bardwell post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914Born hereMae Boren Axton is born here
  6. 1937Born hereJ. W. Lockett is born here
By decade

Bardwell, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Bardwell Texas City Hall 20182018Bardwell Texas City Hall 2018Sign for an old cotton gin, converted into a restaurant, near the town of Bardwell in Ellis County, Texas2014Sign for an old cotton gin, converted into a restaura…Old cotton gin converted into a restaurant near the town of Bardwell in Ellis County, Texas2014Old cotton gin converted into a restaurant near the t…The First National Bank Building2013The First National Bank BuildingBardwell-Masonic-Lodge2010Bardwell-Masonic-LodgeTXMap-doton-Bardwell2004TXMap-doton-Bardwell
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Bardwell

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

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Mae Boren AxtonAmerican songwriter · b. 1914
J
J. W. LockettAmerican football player · b. 1937

Questions about Bardwell’s history

What year was Bardwell founded?

In 1892, according to Wikidata. Bardwell’s post office opened in 1893.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.