The City of McLendon Chisholm recently celebrated 50 years of incorporation.
However, the City has a rich history which dates back almost 170 years, involving two prominent families and two separate towns.
The family names of the early settlers can still be seen today at the historic Chisholm Chapel Cemetery and some of their ancestors continue to reside in our community.
A RICH PAST & A BRIGHT FUTURE
Click on an image for a larger view. All historical images provided by Gary and Mindy Lovell.
McLendon-Chisholm was formed by the union of two separate communities, each of which was named after a prominent landowning family in the early 1850s. Residents who were seeking zoning protection for their rural type communities voted to incorporate and the two communities were incorporated as McLendon-Chisholm on October 18, 1969.
McLendon derived its name from P. A. McLendon. Around 1870 P. A. McLendon, a large land owner built a store, gin, and blacksmith shop, starting the beginning of the community. This was a thriving neighborhood in the midst of an area where there was rich blackland soil that produced an abundance of cotton. In the beginning, there was a church and school.
The land which was the townsite of Chisholm, was given to a veteran of the Mexican War, King Latham in 1847. Enoch Parson Chisholm purchased 200 acres from Latham in 1856 and a few years later, 600 acres for $2.00 per acre. In 1886, the town of Chisholm was platted. Chisholm derived its name from Enoch Parson Chisholm and from his brother, B. Frank Chisholm, a colonel in the Civil War.
Enoch Chisholm was not only a farmer and landowner, but a licensed preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Enoch organized the Chisholm Methodist Church in his home in 1871 and by 1875 had constructed a small chapel, called Chisholm Chapel by the congregation, which was still standing in the 1980s. The community had two small school buildings, which were combined to form Berry Creek Academy in 1886. In 1898 this school had four rooms, four teachers, and 301 students; it was the second-largest school in Rockwall County.
A Chisholm post office was opened in 1891 and remained in operation until 1905. The community’s first store was built in 1890. The population was 102 in 1904, 200 in 1940, and 167 in 1968–69. Until the mid-1960s Chisholm supported a few businesses. On October 18, 1969, the two communities incorporated as McLendon-Chisholm. Afterward the town grew steadily, probably because of the overflow of nearby metropolitan areas. Its population increased from 150 in 1972–73 to 480 in the 1980s, and it supported several small businesses. In 1990 the population was 646 and by 200 the population had grown to 914.
Today, with a population nearing 3,000, McLendon Chisholm is experiencing a strong, well-managed growth period. Upscale residential communities are becoming established and new businesses are discovering the convenience and benefits of being close to the DFW area, without the congestion and limitations of a big city.
REMEMBERING THE PAST, AS WE PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE.
McLENDON-CHISHOLM STATUS REPORT
CONTACT THE CITY
Main Office: (972) 524-2077
Use Contact Form
HOURS
Mon – Fri: 9AM – 5PM
City Hall
1371 West FM 550
McLendon-Chisholm, TX 75032