Texas Lakes Trail Region

Participant in the Texas Historical Commission's
Texas Heritage Trails Program

Farmers Branch

Farmers Branch lies in the middle of a vibrant metropolitan area, and visitors arrive by ultra-modern light-rail trains. Yet Farmers Branch remains the birthplace of Dallas County. A fledgling English-American immigration company, known as the Peters Colony, brought thousands of settlers to North Texas during the 1840s and 1850s. At Farmers Branch they established the county’s first church, blacksmith shop, gristmill and cotton gin. The history of the Peters Colony comes alive in a replica village at the 27-acre Farmers Branch Historical Park. Step back in time at the home of Dr. Samuel and Julia Gilbert, the county’s oldest rock structure and a rare example of 1850s Greek Revival architecture. The dogtrot-style building features two-foot-thick limestone walls, chestnut plank floors and native Texas furniture. Nine other relocated historic structures include an 1840s log cabin, 1877 Farmers Branch depot, 1891 Methodist church and 1900 one-room schoolhouse. The historical park also fields a vintage baseball team that plays using 19th century rules.