History
Joshua
of
Y
ears ago when residents warmed
their homes with firewood in their
stoves and fireplaces, Johnson
County’s earliest settlers dug holes in the
sandy soil for access to a supply of water,
hunted for wild game to fill their stomachs
and used logs to build their homes and
barns.
Before the city of Joshua became what it
is today, the land was known as “Crosstim-
bers,” a wooded strip of land that bisects
Texas and divided Johnson County into the
east and west prairies.
On Feb. 21, 1867, W.W. Byers patented a
500-acre tract of land deeded to him by J.T.
Throckmorton, the governor of Texas at the
time. On April 15, 1869, Byers sold 500
acres to John Powell for $1,000. On April 3,
1874, Powell sold Ira J.L. Pearson 50 acres,
which is now downtown Joshua, for $250.
The early days of Joshua were interwo-
ven with the last days of Caddo Grove.
Most of Joshua’s first residents were people
who moved to the railroad because their
livelihood depended upon the world of
business, and railroads were the hub of the
nation’s business at that time.
Influential leaders in the county had
been working for 15 years to get a rail line
through the center of Johnson County to
Cleburne. In 1881, their lifelong dream was
realized when the Atchison, Topeka, and
Santa Fe Railway extended its line south
from Fort Worth, through the Crosstimbers
into Cleburne.
When the station was first created at the
Joshua site, it was called Caddo Peak, but
the state’s postal department exerted its in-
fluence. The name was declined; and when
Mr. W.L. West, Joshua’s first Postmaster, re-
ceived the notice, Dr. D.B. McMillian was
present. He stated, “I’ll give you a name
that they won’t have a duplicate of —
name the town Joshua.”
This suggestion was submitted and ac-
cepted. This information came from Sam
West, who is a son of W.L. West.
The city’s first store was built in 1882
and was used as both a grocery and dry
goods store, with the first bank being es-
tablished in 1904 and was called the Citi-
zen’s Banking Company. In 1955, the city
became incorporated, with the first officials
being Mayor Ted Strube; City Marshal
Henry Gregory; and S.A. West, H.C.
Brawner, G.R. Russel Sr., Burlin Graves and
Melvin Davis as the city aldermen.
Since its early years, Joshua has had a
rather static population. For many years, it
numbered 800 to 1,000 people. The outly-
ing areas within the school district grew
rapidly during the 1970s, but the popula-
tion of the town itself remained very near
1,000.
6 Joshua Community Guide
In June 1936, Will Hunter, a lifetime res-
ident of Joshua, wrote in the Cleburne
newspaper: “Joshua is a splendid example
of a town which has overcome disaster. In
the year 1900, practically the entire town
was destroyed by a fire.”
There is little reference to this incident
in written records. Again in 1912, the east
side of Main Street burned taking most of
the businesses. The Church of Christ,
which sits on the same property today, did
not burn.
Growing community
As the city’s population grew, more
schools and businesses made their way
into the area providing residents with a va-
riety of places to shop and restaurants to
eat.
Two longtime residents recall the differ-
ences they have seen from when they first
came to the city to now as they have raised
their families.
Steve Martin, 71, of Joshua and his fam-
ily moved to Joshua in 1983 after living in
Fort Worth for many years practicing med-
icine.
Joshua’s atmosphere mirrored his life
growing up in a small rural community in
south Texas, Martin said.
“The community grew on us,” he said.
“I like the smaller community feeling. The