Posted Sept. 08, 2026

When I moved to Burleson in 1962, I knew why. What I didn’t know was why Burleson was built here. Later, I learned that Burleson was a railroad town established in 1881 by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railway. If it hadn’t been for the Katy, there wouldn’t be a city named Burleson.

When the Katy came out of Fort Worth building south, they continued their corporate policy of purchasing vacant land every 10 miles, building a railroad depot, attracting business for their railroad, and selling lots like hotcakes to new businesses and pioneers looking for a place to call home. 

The railroad insiders purchased vacant land on Village Creek from a local farmer, rancher, and Baptist preacher. They followed their plan, and a new community named Burleson was born.

A study of the Katy’s history reflects that the cornerstone of its beginning was near Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1867. It then headed south, laying track to the Indian Territory. 

Three railroad companies raced to be the first to reach the Indian Territory. The Indian nations would allow only the first railroad to arrive to build through their land.

After skullduggery and some violence by all three railroads, the Katy was the first to reach Indian Territory. The Katy then experienced difficulty with outlaws and some local Native American tribes who didn’t like any railroads crossing their land because it represented modern civilization, which they hated. 

In spite of opposition, the Katy built across the Indian Territory and then crossed the Red River into Grayson County, Texas.

Sherman, the Grayson County seat, was not receptive to the Katy being built into their town because they did not want to purchase $50,000 in Katy bonds to subsidize the building of the railroad into their fair city. 

Once rebuffed, the Katy insiders purchased 393 acres in the wilderness north of Sherman and established a new town in September 1872, naming it Denison in honor of its vice president. The new town of Denison was a huge success. The brochure distributed by the Red River Railroad Museum states that 3,000 folks moved to Denison in its first 100 days of existence. 

Denison was a wild and woolly town at the end of the tracks at first, but it settled down over the following 10 years, shipping cattle, cotton, and other goods north.

After the financial panic of 1873 was over, the famous “robber baron” Jay Gould bought many of the bankrupt railroads and developed the Missouri Pacific (MoPac) Railroad system. 

From 1880 to 1886, the Katy was part of MoPac, which allowed it to build from Denison to Whitesboro and connect with the Texas and Pacific Railway to Fort Worth. From Fort Worth going south, the Katy stopped after 10 miles to build a train depot, which became the community of Burleson.

The 30 or so trains that travel through Burleson daily are a symbol of our great heritage. Don’t fuss and fume as you wait at the railroad crossing for the gate to lift. Instead, give special thanks to the railroad for making our great city possible.

Reference: The book “The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier” by V.V. Masterson.

John Duke Smith is a local history buff. Have a question? Email him at [email protected]..

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