Junction of the Texas & Pacific and Houston & Texas Central Railroads

The city of Dallas secured its role as the economic, communication and transportation center of North Texas with the completion of the junction of the Texas & Pacific and Houston & Texas Central Railroads in 1873. In 1871, as railroads began to approach Dallas, county and city leaders paid the Houston & Texas Central $5,000 to shift the proposed route seven miles to the west, so that it north-south tracks would run approximately one mile from the court house. One year later, when leaders could not convince the Texas & Pacific to shift their proposed route by payment, they devised a way to force the shift. State Representative John V. Lane secured a rider amendment stating that the proposed east to west railroad extension cross the Houston and Texas Central line within one half mile of Browder’s Springs, which was the town’s public water supply. The legislators did not know that the springs were also located one mile from the Dallas County Courthouse. Angered by the amendment’s passage, the Texas & Pacific Railroad still planned to build the tracks one mile south of Browder’s Springs. However, the gift of right-of-way for the line along Burleson Avenue (which was changed to “Pacific Avenue” in honor of the rail company), $100,000 in bonds, and additional right-of-way at the intersection with the Houston & Central rail line for a depot finally convinced the Texas and Pacific to move the tracks to follow Pacific Avenue, downtown. The resulting intersection became one of the first rail crossroads in Texas. (2008)

Junction of the Texas & Pacific and Houston & Texas Central Railroads is a historical marker in Dallas, Dallas County, dedicated in 2008. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7839, -96.7910 near Dallas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Purvin-Hexter Building (historic place), about 0.2 miles away. Others within a short drive include Bluitt Sanitarium, William Sidney Pittman, and Hilton Hotel.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507015591. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.