Page 26 - Plano, TX Heritage Preservation Plan

1872-1895: DOWNTOWN PLANO EMERGES

This period starts with the opening of the H&TC Railroad, which is transformative in Plano history. Downtown grows as business that
process agricultural products locate in proximity to the railroad. Other businesses begin to locate in Downtown to serve the needs
of the farming families. Opening of the Cotton Belt railroad solidifies Plano as a commercial center. This period comes to an end with
the great fires in the late 1890s, which destroy most of the buildings downtown.

The Railroad Business
Railroad business established Plano as a center for agricultural
commerce for importing and exporting crops in south Collin
County. By 1887, Plano was shipping more grain than any
other station on the H&TC Railroad north of Dallas. Railroads
also brought new building materials to the city, which were
HOUSTON & TEXAS primarily used for Plano’s finest houses.
CENTRAL RAILROAD PLANO PUBLIC SCHOOL

The opening of the H&TC Railroad transformed Plano The making of Plano ISD begins to take shape
from a community of scattered farms and homesteads as private rural schools are consolidated into the
to a center of business and agriculture. Less expensive Plano Public School.
than shipping by wagon, the railroad opened up new
markets to Plano’s farmers.

Bethany Christian
Church & Cemetery Old City
1872 Long Depression (1873-1879) 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884

1874

Schimelpfenig Dry 500 TELEPHONE
Goods store opens in POPULATION The first reference to
Downtown Plano a telephone in Plano.
OF PLANO Southwestern Telegraph and
CITY OF PLANO IS Telephone Company either
installed or acquired the
original telephone service.
INCORPORATED
C.J.E. Kellner was elected first mayor, along with five Harrington Pharmacy opens its doors. The
aldermen and one councilman. business would serve Plano for over a century.

First Baptist First Presbyterian
CHURCHES RELOCATE DOWNTOWN
Church of Plano Church of Plano

With the arrival of the H&TC railroad and Downtown’s
emergence as a business center, many rural
churches began relocating to Downtown Plano.

- First Presbyterian Church of Plano (1873)
- First Christian Church of Plano (1873)
- First Methodist Church of Plano (1874)
- First Baptist Church of Plano (1875)
- Shiloh Baptist Church (1884)

Architecture Downtown Growth & Development Business Douglass Community Institutions Transportation and Infrastructure

26 CHapter 3: history of plano November 2018