Rich in History
Looking to really get to know Texas? Visit Cleburne, one of the earliest communities to form in the state.
When Texas first became a state in 1845, our community was part of Navarro County.
In 1854, Wardville was established as the first county seat of Johnson County. In 1867, the county seat was moved to Camp Henderson, which was renamed to Cleburne to honor Confederate Gen. Pat Cleburne. He never owned slaves nor did he ever visit Johnson County, Texas. He died Nov. 30, 1864, at the age of 36 in the Battle of Franklin, where he led many Texans in combat. He is buried in Franklin, Tennessee. Starting in 1866, one of the most popular cattle drives called the“ Chisholm Trail” used Wardville as a camp site until 1890 because of the abundance of water and grasslands which is now known as Cleburne.
Cleburne, Texas, was incorporated in 1871, and was a farming and cattle ranching center until the opening of the Santa Fe shops, which caused the population to boom. Cleburne was the site of a major Santa Fe Railway locomotive back shop, which opened in 1898 and was most noted for the conversion of the former F7 locomotives into the Cleburne F7
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( CF7) and the SF30C locomotives.
Some of the former railroad shop buildings can still be seen on the east side of the tracks. You can also see Cleburne’ s rich history with the original Wardville Courthouse at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum.
Historical attractions in Cleburne include the Layland Museum, Cleburne Railroad Museum, Gone with the Wind Remembered Museum, the Santa Fe 3417 steam engine in Hulen Park, La Moderna Field baseball museum, Chisholm Gen. Pat Cleburne Trail Outdoor Museum, Cleburne State Park, historical homes and other historical sites.