Cleburne ( ) is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Johnson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,352. The city is named in honor of

Patrick Cleburne Major general, Major-General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne ( ; March 16, 1828November 30, 1864) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer in the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, West ...

, a Confederate general. Lake Pat Cleburne, the reservoir that provides water to the city and surrounding area, is also named after him.

History

Cleburne is Johnson County's third county seat (the first being Wardville, now under Lake Pat Cleburne). It was formerly known as Camp Henderson, a temporary

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

outpost from which Johnson County soldiers would depart for war (most of them served under General Cleburne). The city was formally incorporated in 1871. Cleburne was near the earliest road in the county. The location featured water from West Buffalo Creek, making it a stop for cattlemen from the

Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail cons ...

. In August 1886, the Texas

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance an ...

met at Lee's Academy and adopted a 17-point political resolution, commonly known as the Cleburne Demands, which was the first major document of the agrarian revolt occurring at the end of the late 19th century., p.46-49. In 1900, Cleburne was the site of the founding convention of the Texas State Federation of Labor. Cleburne was primarily an agricultural center and county seat until the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

opened a major facility there in 1898. During this time, the population boomed, as it became a sizable city for the area with over 12,000 residents by 1920. The Chicago, Texas and Mexican Central Railway connected Cleburne to Dallas in 1882. Two other railroads had terminals in Cleburne. The Dallas, Cleburne, and Southwestern Railway completed a route to Egan in 1902, and the Trinity and Brazos Valley, nicknamed the Boll Weevil, operated from Cleburne from 1904 to 1924. Cleburne was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for German soldiers during World War 2. The POWs worked as laborers on local farms. In 1985, the city was the petitioner in the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

case '' City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc.'' after being sued over a

special-use permit A special-use permit authorizes land uses that are allowed and encouraged by the ordinance and declared harmonious with the applicable zoning district. Purpose Land use is governed by a set of regulations generally known as ordinances or municipa ...

. Cleburne is on the fringe of the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

. Growth in the area has been primarily attributed to

suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...

. On May 15, 2013, Cleburne was hit by a powerful tornado that cut a mile-wide path through part of the city and damaged about 600 homes and two schools. The National Weather Service rated it EF-3, which has winds between . No deaths or severe injuries were reported.

Geography

Cleburne is west of the center of Johnson County, south of the center of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. It is bordered to the north by

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

and to the east by Keene.

U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues ...

runs through the north side of the city on a freeway bypass; the highway leads east to Alvarado and west to Stephenville. State Highways 171 and 174 run through the center of Cleburne on Main Street. Highway 171 leads northwest to Cresson and southeast to Hillsboro, while Highway 174 leads north to Burleson and southwest to Meridian. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Cleburne has a total area of , of which are land and , or 8.86%, are covered by water. East and West Buffalo Creek run through the center of Cleburne, flowing south to the

Nolan River Nolan River is a river in north central Texas, running through Johnson County and Hill County and is part of the Brazos River drainage basin. The Nolan's headwaters are in farm land in northwest Johnson County. The river runs generally paralle ...

and part of the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

watershed.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 31,352 people, 10,982 households, and 7,441 families residing in the city.

Attractions

The City of Cleburne Parks and Recreation Department maintains Splash Station, a small water park for people of all ages. The Cleburne Sports Complex contains seven baseball/softball fields, two football fields, and 20 soccer fields. The Depot at Cleburne Station is a 1,750-seat baseball stadium, home to the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. Plaza Theatre Company is a 158-seat theatre-in-the-round, which operates year-round in Cleburne's historic downtown. The troupe provides family-friendly musicals and comedies, and has been the recipient of numerous awards for theatrical excellence since opening in November 2006. Historic Downtown Cleburne has 7 Antique Malls, numerous Boutiques and Restaurants , The Published Page, a large independent bookstore, and Songbird Live , a music venue all in a 5 block radius to their Courthouse. Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum is an outdoor museum located in the western part of Cleburne at the site of Wardville, the original county seat of Johnson County, established in 1854. The original courthouse there is the oldest log courthouse in Texas. It has a one-room schoolhouse, a jail with the original iron doors from the Wardville jail, a blacksmith shop, an original mule barn, and a restored stagecoach from two early John Wayne movies. There is also the Big Bear Native American Museum. It was recently named as one of Texas' top 10 open-air museums. Other local museums include the Cleburne Railroad Museum and the Layland Museum. Cleburne State Park is in a hilly area west of the city center. It has fishing in Cedar Lake, camping, swimming, and hiking trails.

Economy

Major employers include

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

, which maintains a Supercenter retail outlet and a distribution center. Together, those facilities employ 914 workers. The Cleburne Independent School District is a major employer with 968 employees. Local government is also a major employer, providing 348 jobs, and Johnson County has 598 employees in the city. Johns Manville, Texas Resources Harris Methodist Hospital, Greenbrier rail service (operating at the rail yards previously occupied by Burlington Northern Santa Fe), Supreme Corporation of Texas, and Broan-Nutone are among other major private-sector employers. A recent natural gas boom has now brought related companies to the district and surrounding areas. Maj

Fun Town RV, the nation's largest single-location towable RV dealer employs 412 at its corporate headquarters and sales office.''Community Life'' Magazine June/July 2016 Vol. 11, No. 3

Education

The city is served by the Cleburne Independent School District, with Cleburne High School as the only high school. The district also maintains an alternative school, the Team School, and Phoenix, which is the disciplinary school. The district operates two middle schools for grades 6 though 8: A.D. Wheat Middle School and Lowell Smith Intermediate School. Elementary-level schools serving the Cleburne area are Adams, Coleman, Cooke, Gerard, Irving, Marti. and Santa Fe (kindergarten through grade 5). A private school
Cleburne Christian Academy
serving age 4 through grade 12 is also available.

Hill College Hill College is a public community college in Hillsboro, Texas. It opened in 1923. History The authorization to establish Hill College was issued in 1921 by the Attorney General of the State of Texas under the name of Hillsboro Junior Colle ...

's Johnson County Campus is in Cleburne.

Cleburne High School sports

Cleburne High School is in UIL district 8-5A. Cleburne's most notable sports stadium, the Yellow Jacket Stadium is nicknamed "the Rock". It is primarily made of stone and was constructed by the Public Works Administration workers in 1934. Football and soccer are played on this field.

Notable people

* William H. Bledsoe, a member of both houses of Texas legislature from Lubbock, 1915 to 1929 *

Johnny Carroll Johnny Carroll (born John Lewis Carrell; October 23, 1937January 13, 1995) was an American rockabilly musician. Biography Born John Lewis Carrell in Cleburne, Texas, Carrell's last name was printed incorrectly as Carroll in his first recordin ...

, a rockabilly singer, recorded for Sun Records, Decca Records, and Warner Bros * Pat Culpepper, All-American linebacker for the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Donnie Dacus James O. "Donnie" Dacus (born October 12, 1951) is an American guitarist, vocalist, actor, songwriter, and producer. He has been a member of the rock bands Chicago and Badfinger. Early life Dacus grew up in Cleburne, Texas. By the age of 14, he ...

, former guitarist for

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Leonard Eugene Dickson Leonard Eugene Dickson (January 22, 1874 – January 17, 1954) was an American mathematician. He was one of the first American researchers in abstract algebra, in particular the theory of finite fields and classical groups, and is also rem ...

, professor of mathematics at University of Chicago * Dillon Gee, pitcher for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

and others *

Joe Keeble Joseph Bailey Keeble (August 29, 1909 – April 27, 1984) was an American football back who played one season with the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of California, Los Angeles. ...

, football player * David "Benedict" McWilliams, a former player and head football coach of the

* Spike Owen, a former Major League Baseball shortstop * Derrell Palmer, a 1950s

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

lineman * Randy Rogers, singer and front man of Randy Rogers Band * Del Sharbutt, radio and television announcer, songwriter, and composer * Barbara Staff, co-chair of the 1976

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

in Texas * Montey Stevenson, former professional football defensive tackle * Anne Stratton, composer * Claude Porter White, composer

References

External links

City of Cleburne official website

History of Cleburne in the Handbook of Texas
{{authority control Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Cities in Texas Cities in Johnson County, Texas County seats in Texas Populated places established in 1867 1867 establishments in Texas