Keller is a suburban city located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Tarrant County, Texas. Keller is a mostly residential area that has 300 acres of developed land dedicated to 11 park sites. Keller is considered the 74th most populated city in Texas, with a recent estimate of 47,213 as of July 2019. In this article, we are going to learn more about the rich history of Keller, Texas
Establishment of Keller
Back in the 1840s, Keller was part of the frontier of Peters Colony settlers because it is located in the western fringe of the Eastern Cross Timbers in northeast Tarrant County. During that time, the area was settled by families from Missouri, which built their homes near the head-waters of Big Bear Creek. In July 1850, Mount Gilead Baptist Church, however, nine years later, the little log church was burned in an Indian raid.
The area was once called ‘Double Springs’ because of the two large springs that are located approximately ½ mile north of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church. During the early 1870s, the area had a grist mill, a cotton gin, several stores, and a blacksmith shop. When an artesian well was drilled in Keller in 1896, the Double Springs was filled with silt and eventually were plugged and lost until it was rediscovered in 1984.
In 1881, The Texas and Pacific Railway located between Fort Worth and Texarkana was completed, and the first train ran on this track in May 1881. With the arrival of the rail service, businesses and new villages were established all along the line. The Keller we know today was one of those villages. In July 1881, A.C Roberts decided to deed 62 acres of land to a Tarrant County pharmacist named H.W. Black. This land later became a townsite known as Athol. In just a year, settlers began to migrate to the new village, and the town’s name was changed from Athol to Keller, in honor of John C. Keller, a man who worked as a foreman on the railroad.
The streets on the townsite still carry the names that were given to them in 1881. Streets going north and south are named Elm, Main, and Lamar, while those running east and west are named Pecan, Vine, Price, Taylor, Bates, Hill, and Olive.
Keller Today
As the town develops, new residential sites slowly filled in the open spaces, to the point where Keller’s neighboring towns no longer had the opportunity to expand its boundaries. In 1980 the Census calculated that Keller has a population of 4,555; Today, Keller nearly has 45,000 people call Keller their home.
The city has several facilities such as the Keller Public Library, the Municipal Service Center on Bear Creek Parkway West, Keller Town Hall located on Bear Creek Parkway, and the Keller Senior Activities Center situated on Johnson Road. Keller also has an award-winning recreation and aquatic center called The Keller Pointe, which is located on Rufe Snow Drive. They also recently expanded and renovated its police facility, which includes the Regional Animal Adoption Center, a Regional Jail, regional 911 dispatch center, and NETCOM that serves the cities of Colleyville, Keller, Westlake, and Southlake.
