The area that became Dallas was first permanently settled in November 1841, when John Neely Bryan established a trading post and settlement on the east bank of the Trinity River near a natural ford. This site was chosen because it sat at the crossroads of important trails and provided one of the best river crossings in North Texas.
Key dates in Dallas’s early history:
- 1839 – Bryan first surveyed the area as a possible trading-post location.
- November 1841 – Permanent settlement founded (generally regarded as the founding date of Dallas).
- 1844 – The townsite was formally surveyed and laid out in blocks and streets.
- 1846 – Dallas County was created, with Dallas serving as county seat.
- February 2, 1856 – Dallas was officially incorporated as a city by the Texas Legislature.
The Dallas population grew slowly: according to the Texas State Historical Association: A Comprehensive History of Dallas, Texas “By 1860 the population was 678, including ninety-seven enslaved African Americans as well as French, Belgians, Swiss, and Germans”. That same source puts the 1870 population at 3,000 inhabitants.
Dallas Genealogical Society volunteers recognized the value of early census, court, burial and other records from this period and have undertaken many transcription projects to make this information available to family history researchers.
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