Josephine, Texas

Everything Josephine is known for

1 song mention this city 0 artists from here

Music in Josephine

Songs About Josephine

Josephine
Tanner Usrey
10%
"And oh, my sweet Josephine"

Artists From Josephine

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Rivers & Roads in Song near Josephine

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Josephine.

Sabine River 13 songs Sulphur River 2 songs Interstate 20 13 songs Interstate 45 8 songs Trinity River 11 songs Red River 87 songs

History of Josephine

Named for the Landowner's Daughter RoadyGoat

Imagine having to move your whole community. That's roughly what happened here. Before the tracks came, the settlement in this neighborhood was Reed's Chapel, a promising little farm community with a church at its heart. Then in 1888 the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway, the Cotton Belt, pushed its line through southeastern Collin County, and it didn't run through Reed's Chapel. A landowner named J. C. Hubbard donated ground to the railroad for a new townsite, and the railroad named it for his daughter, Josephine. The folks at Reed's Chapel understood exactly what that meant. Soon after the line was built, Reed's Chapel moved to Josephine, buildings and all. By 1889 the Cotton Belt passenger train was running through here to Dallas, and Josephine had become the retail market center for the farmers around it. The old place faded, and the town you're standing in today took its place.

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The Iron Horse That Built a Town RoadyGoat

The railroad tracks that cut through Josephine are more than a historical feature. They're the reason the town exists at all. When the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway, better known as the Cotton Belt, plotted its route through southeastern Collin County in 1888, engineers had to find the straightest, flattest path across the rolling Blackland Prairie for heavy steam locomotives. The line missed the existing settlement at Reed's Chapel, so J. C. Hubbard donated land to the railroad for a fresh townsite along the survey, and it was named for his daughter Josephine. The town's grid was laid out parallel and perpendicular to those tracks. The depot, the cotton gins, and every downtown business took their position from the railroad. By 1889 the Cotton Belt was running passenger service through here to Dallas. This line of steel wasn't just built through the landscape. It created one, turning a patch of prairie into a node on the national network.

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Josephine, TX RoadyGoat

Established in 1888 and incorporated in 1955, Josephine has witnessed significant growth over the years. From a small community of 594 residents in 2000, it has expanded to an estimated population of 10,208 by 2025. This growth is a testament to the city's ability to adapt and thrive, reflecting the broader economic and demographic shifts in Texas. The increase in population and the rise in median household income from $34,750 in 2000 to $91,000 in 2024 highlight the city's development and prosperity.

Prairie Grove Cemetery

1895

The Prairie Grove Cemetery served residents of the Aleo community from the late 1800s until the middle of the 20th century. The burial ground has ties to the Prairie Grove Baptist Church, which set aside land to be used for burials. The oldest known grave in the cemetery dates to 1895. World War II hero Audie Murphy lived in the area for a time, and his mother and grandparents are buried here. Victims of the 1927 tornado that came through nearby Nevada are also interred here. A vestige of rural settlement of the 19th century, the cemetery serves as a reminder of the pioneer community of Aleo. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2005

Historical Marker → · 3.7 mi away

Central National Road of the Republic of Texas

1844

During its brief existence, the Congress of the Republic of Texas made significant efforts to plan for the inevitable increase in settlement. One of those efforts was the establishment of the Central National Road, designed to connect the Red River to existing military roads along the Trinity River and points farther west, thus opening much of northeast Texas to both settlement and commerce. On February 5, 1844, the Congress created a five-man commission to supervise the surveying and construction of the road. Commission members, which included John Yeary, received land for their work. Yeary selected property in present Collin County and founded a settlement that grew to become Farmersville. The commissioners chose George Stell of Paris, Texas, as surveyor for the project. He began his work in April 1844 from a point now within the city of Dallas. He and his assistant traveled northeast, measuring and marking the exact route, which passed through the present counties of Dallas, Rockwall, Collin, Hunt, Fannin, Lamar and Red River; only three of them had been formally organized at that time. The new route utilized existing prairies and natural stream crossings, and avoided obstacles like densely wooded areas. It ended at the Kiomatia Crossing of the Red River near present Jonesborough, Red River County. While records are unclear as to whether construction was ever completed, history shows the Central National Road was short-lived, soon replaced by the Preston Road and other early routes, and eventually by rail lines. It did, however, help open northeast Texas to increased growth and development. Through Yeary's association with the road and his settlement in Collin County, it also directly impacted the early growth in population of this area. (2005)

Historical Marker →

Nevada, TX

1927

Nevada is on Farm Road 1138 two miles east of Lavon Lake in southeastern Collin County. The rich soils of the Blackland Prairies and the water provided by Bear Creek attracted settlers to the area as early as the mid-1840s. The first organized community in the area was McMinn Chapel, established in the early 1840s four miles north of the site of present Nevada. For the most part the residents of the community were the family and friends of its founder, John McMinn. In 1861 Granville Stinebaugh moved to Texas from Missouri and purchased 160 acres of land near McMinn Chapel. Shortly thereafter the town of Nevada was established on his farm and named by Stinebaugh in honor of Nevada Territory, which he had passed through on his way to search for gold in California. The town received a post office on August 3, 1880. Eight years later the tracks of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway reached the community. In 1889 Nevada incorporated, choosing an aldermanic form of government. From the 1880s to the 1920s Nevada served as a retail market for a small but populous farming territory. The population of the town grew from an estimated fifty in 1885 to 578 in 1920. By 1925 Nevada provided its 625 residents with paved roads, electricity, a telephone exchange, twenty-five businesses, and a high school. On May 9, 1927, a tornado struck the town. Twenty-seven people were killed, seventy-five were injured, and approximately $1 million in property damage occurred. Nevada never recovered from this disaster. The Great Depression and the mechanization of farming further retarded the growth of the town. By 1950 the population had decreased to 386, and it remained near this figure for the next thirty years. In 1980 Nevada had an estimated 400 residents served by four businesses. In 1990 the population was 456. The population was 563 in 2000.

Tsha Handbook → · 3.7 mi away

Nevada

1852

Located in southeast Collin County, the settlement of Nevada was on its way to becoming a booming commercial city until a disastrous tornado swept the town in 1927. In 1835, John McMinn, who received a land grant for 1600 acres, moved his family to what was later known as the McMinn Chapel community, four miles north of the present-day site of Nevada. Soon, the rich Blackland Prairie attracted more settlers to the area. In 1852, Granville Stinebaugh from Missouri purchased 160 acres and established Nevada. The town incorporated on Jan. 24, 1891. There were no denominational churches in the community at the time, but an old gin house serving as a place of worship for all faiths. In the 1890s, the town had Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian and Christian churches. The St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad, which later became the Cotton Belt Railroad, came to Nevada in 1888 and the town slowly moved closer to the railroad depot. As a result of the railroad, nearby settlers moved to Nevada and the town prospered with a booming commercial district. Restaurants, shops, hotels, offices and fraternal lodges filled downtown. In 1902, due to increased interest, John Evans purchased land east of town and opened the Evans Addition. In addition to economic priorities, Nevada also focused on the education of its citizens. Early on, classes were held in people's homes until a school was erected. Sadly, on Monday, May 9, 1927 at 2:20 A.M., a half-mile wide tornado completely destroyed the west side of town with 27 killed and 75 wounded. Even though a large portion of the town was destroyed, the citizens of Nevada continued to work and hope for future growth. (2013)

Historical Marker → · 3.7 mi away

Yeary, John

1841

John Yeary, soldier, Indian fighter, and early settler of Collin County, was born in Virginia in 1796. He spent the first part of his adult life as a soldier in the United States Army, rising to the rank of captain. In 1830 he traveled to northwest Arkansas, where he was in charge of mowing and baling hay for mounted regiments throughout the southwest. In 1839, attracted by the opportunities provided by the Republic of Texas , Yeary and six families moved to Fannin County. He settled near present day Ladonia where, following the defense of his home against an Indian attack on March 14, 1841, in which his wife suffered an arrow wound, he established a reputation as an Indian fighter. When repeated attacks occurred in the area Yeary accompanied Texas Ranger Edward H. Tarrant on an expedition against the Indians in 1842. Yeary was present when John B. Denton was killed on a scouting party for the expedition. Two years later Yeary was one of five men empowered by the Texas Congress to select the right-of-way for the Central National Road of the Republic of Texas. The five also were to clear and build bridges for the road. The men received land as compensation for their work. Yeary laid claim to 640 acres, two to three miles northwest of Floyd. The locust post at the southeast corner of his land became the forty-eight-mile post for the National Road. During his survey of possible sites for the road Yeary found the productive farmland in Collin County attractive. In 1845, following his work for Congress, he moved near the site of present-day Farmersville, originally called Yeary's Place, and later Sugar Hill, where he opened a store and worked a farm. By 1852 Yeary had accumulated 127 acres of land in Collin County on which he worked the four slaves he owned. Yeary had eleven children with Elizabeth (Chinault), who died in 1853. About a year later he married Mrs. Allen Daniels. On Christmas Eve, 1854, Yeary was killed attempting to stop a fight in his store. He was buried in the Jones-Yeary cemetery near Farmersville.

Tsha Handbook → · 7.2 mi away

Royse City, TX

1885

Royse City is on State Highway 66 five miles northeast of Rockwall in the northeastern corner of Rockwall County. It was named for G. B. Royse, who in 1886 platted the townsite and sold its first lots. People began settling in the area in 1885, when it became known that the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad would be constructed through that part of the county. Many of the settlement's earliest residents and businesses were attracted from the nearby community of Fate, which the railroad had bypassed. The new community grew from the beginning. The first business, a general merchandise store, opened in December 1885 and was followed soon after by a variety of business houses, some of which were pulled on rollers from Fate. In 1886 a post office opened in Royse City. By 1890 the community had a population of 1,000, two cotton gins, a gristmill, and twenty businesses. It was first incorporated in 1891; this incorporation was voted out in 1902, only to be reinstated in 1906. In 1896 the number of businesses in the community stood at forty, and by 1898 local schools employed four teachers and registered 204 students. Considerable business in marketing, cotton trading, cottonseed oil manufacturing, and cotton ginning took place in the early twentieth century. By 1914 Royse City had a population of 1,300 and forty businesses. The population remained over 1,000 during the 1920s and 1930s, and in 1936 fifty-four businesses operated in the town. From 1950 to 1960 the population increased from 1,190 to 1,243, and the number of businesses declined from fifty-five to forty-five. By 1964 Royse City had decreased to a population of 1,100, but afterward grew to 1,535 in 1970, 1,566 in 1980, and 1,800 in 1988. The business community decreased in size between 1960 and 1970 but increased from forty businesses in 1980 to fifty-six in 1988. In 1990 the population was 2,206. The population was 2,957 in 2000.

Tsha Handbook → · 6.0 mi away

Things to Do in Josephine

historical 15.2 mi away
Southfork Ranch

The filming location of TV's Dallas. JR Ewing lived here.
quirky 18.0 mi away
Southfork Ranch

The Ewing family TV mansion from the Dallas soap opera sits on two hundred acres in Parker Texas and is open for tours every day. JRs bedroom is there. The…

Everything Near Josephine

525 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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