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LISBON, TEXAS. Lisbon was at the intersection of Lancaster and Ann Arbor roads six miles south of downtown Dallas in south central Dallas County. The first settlers in the area were J. Cole, James Ray, and F. Sadler, who received land grants in the Peters colony. James K. Sloan, an Arkansas native, arrived with his family before 1843 and received a 640-acre grant a mile east of the site. He was soon joined by his brothers Samuel and Robert and their families. Eventually the brothers were granted or bought more than 4,000 acres west of the Trinity River. Though settlers lived in the Lisbon area beginning in the 1840s, the developing community only became known as Lisbon in 1870, when it received a post office. It was named for Elizabeth (nicknamed Lisbon) Williamson, who later kept a hotel at the community. James P. Sherick was the first postmaster. Though the post office was called Virginia from 1871 to 1874, the community continued to be called Lisbon. Around 1870 the intersection of Lancaster and Ann Arbor roads, which were then wagon roads, became the community's business district. A building to be used as a church and school was built, and a cemetery was established. Lisbon was the first stagecoach stop out of Dallas toward Central Texas.

The town grew slowly and by 1885 had a population of fifty, a steam gristmill and cotton gin, a general store, a blacksmith, a church, a school, and a doctor. By 1890 it reported a population of eighty, a general store, two blacksmiths, a corn mill and gin, a meat market, a carpenter, a painter, a physician, and a livestock agent. Its population was 150 in 1896. Lisbon shipped much cotton by wagon to Dallas on Lancaster Road, a one-day round trip. Around 1910 Lisbon reported a population of 140, a grocery and drug store, a blacksmith shop, a school, two churches, and a cemetery. In 1913 suburban developers began breaking up farms, laying out streets, and planning utilities for housing developments in the Lisbon area. Interurban trains provided transportation to and from Dallas. The plat for Bellevue, the first large development in the Lisbon area, was filed on October 16, 1913, by Royal A. Ferris, president of the Lisbon Realty Company. In 1914 the second of the largest additions, Glendale Acres, was platted. On September 20, 1920, Lisbon and Bellevue were incorporated as the town of Lisbon, and P. G. Wilson was elected the first mayor. Glendale Acres refused to join them. During the 1920s the town received street lighting, home electricity, fire service, and natural gas service. At this time the population of Lisbon grew rapidly, and by the time of its annexation by Dallas in 1929, Lisbon's population was 3,000.


Helen B. Anthony, Lisbon West of the Trinity (Dallas: Southern Methodist University, 1971). Dallas Times Herald, November 3, 1991.

Lisa C. Maxwell



Lisa C. Maxwell, "LISBON, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (, accessed December 19, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.