Dodson House - Farmers Branch, TX
N 32° 55.049 W 096° 53.606
14S E 696987 N 3644107
The Dodson House stands inside Farmers Branch Historical Park at 2540 Farmers Branch Ln, and it was moved to this location in 1942 for the sake of being on higher ground, away from Farmers Branch Creek.
Waymark Code: WM1275Y
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/18/2020
Views: 1
This house is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and a 2007 Texas Historical Marker up front provides some details, even referencing the relocation:
This historic Farmers Branch residence was the home of the city's first mayor. William F. (Bill) Dodson (1895-1949), a native of Malakoff, married Maude Gilmore (1896-1998) in Fort Worth in July 1917. The following May, Bill became a private in the 36th Infantry Division, serving in France's Meuse-Argonne sector during the First World War. The Dodsons' son Smith was born in November 1918. After the war, the Dodson family lived in Dallas and became active in real estate and oil. They moved to Farmers Branch in the 1930s and commissioned contractor Ross Faulkner to design a house to Maude's specifications. Completed by 1937, it was originally closer to Farmers Branch Creek but moved to its present site in 1942.
In January 1946, Bill Dodson learned the City of Dallas, with city limits then 12 miles distant, planned to annex the Farmers Branch community. He and his neighbors circulated a petition for a local incorporation election. Citizens voted approval, and in April they elected Dodson the first mayor. H.O. Good, Lawson Lewis, Raymond Milloway, Thomas Reeder and Glenn Templin became the first aldermen. The new city council held three meetings in the Dodson House, with others conducted at Mason Lodge No. 395, where Dodson was a member. During his two-year term as mayor, Farmers Branch hired its first city employees, established a fire department and water system, and joined the League of Texas Municipalities.
Maude stayed in the house until 1983, donating it to the city as the core of a heritage park. The Colonial Revival one-story frame house has telescoping wings, side gables, wood siding, six-over-one windows and a slender pedimented entry with square columns.
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The City of Farmers Branch website (see website, below) expands upon the historical marker, and relates a few details behind the house's relocation:
By 1942, the Dodsons realized the mistake of building so close to a flood prone creek and recruited the help of friends and neighbors to move their home to higher ground. The original location of the house is approximately 200 feet to the southwest of the present day location. The house and garage were moved, a new grill house was built and a sunroom and washroom were added. Maude's brother, Humphrey Gilmore assisted with some of the masonry and carpentry work that developed due to the move.