Cleburne, Texas

How Cleburne is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

1 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

  • Scott Cain per Wikidata

  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

cleburne.net

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Population over time

From 29,337 in 2010 to 31,352 in 2020 (+6.9%).

History

Founding

In 1862, Cleburne began as an army camp during the Civil War known as Camp Henderson. The waters of the Buffalo Creeks made for a good site for the first volunteer Confederate camp in Johnson County on Colonel W.F. Henderson's land. Camp Henderson became the third county seat of Johnson County in 1867 after Hood County was established, throwing Buchanan out of the county's legal boundaries. The name was soon changed to Cleburne, named after Patrick R. Cleburne, a major general of the CSA, under whom many of the locals served. Many of the residents of Buchanan relocated to Cleburne along with the public buildings and residences.

One of the early city leaders was Colonel B.J. Chambers, who contributed 40 acres of land to the town. He owned large lots throughout Johnson County, but ended up selling most of it to help fund public improvements in town. He aided in surveying and laying out lots, donated land for a public cemetery, and continued making improvements and aiding enterprises towards the welfare of the town. Another early leader was Colonel W.F. Henderson, a business partner of Chambers'. Henderson donated half the lots that made up Cleburne, giving the town an early head start.

Late 1800s

Cleburne was incorporated on May 3, 1871, with John Cunningham serving as the town's first mayor. The city limits extended half a mile in each direction from the public square. The early municipal government found rather difficult the governing people who were used to living on the frontier, and who quickly came at odds over the early ordinances that were passed. Due to these difficulties, the council in 1873 did virtually nothing, prompting citizens to vote candidates in the next election under a "do nothing" ticket. Citizens later signed a petition causing the disestablishment of the city government that "outlived its usefulness". The city government was re-established in 1876 to deal with "rip-roarius" human beings.

Early industrial growth in the city was characterized as slow and steady, never experiencing a "boom or bust". In 1881, the railroad came to Cleburne, but was not met with much fanfare. Excitement grew, however, when the city won the contract for the Santa Fe shops in 1897. The shops became fully operational in 1899. Existing lines in Cleburne included one between Fort Worth and Temple built by Santa Fe in 1881, the Dallas branch of the Chicago, Texas, and Mexican Central in 1884, and the Weatherford branch of the Santa Fe in 1887. In 1895, Cleburne had access to electric lighting for the first time, provided by the Cleburne Electric Light Company. Telephones came in 1897, provided by the Bell Telephone Company.

Early to mid 1900s

The Texas State Federation of Labor, after several attempts during the 1890s, organized in January 1900 in Cleburne. The convention had 23 delegates representing 8,475 members from seven cities and had early success that corresponded with the early progressive movement in Texas. The Cleburne Public Library had its origins in 1901 under the direction of the local women's club, who in 1902, secured funding from Andrew Carnegie to build a library that opened in 1905. In 1909, the State Christian Junior College moved from Denton to Cleburne, operating as Clebarro Junior College until its closing in 1919.

Several railroads came to Cleburne around this time, including the Dallas, Cleburne, and Southwestern Railway in 1902, and the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway in 1904. The latter was sold to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas in 1910 before being abandoned by 1920. Cleburne operated a local streetcar service from 1911 until 1917, while the interurban of Fort Worth served Cleburne beginning in 1912, operating for 18 years. Between 1911 and 1914, the Cleburne Motor Car Manufacturing Company produced the "Luck" truck, "Luck" utility, and the "Cleburne" car. The Texas Motor Car Association built "Texan" cars in Cleburne between 1918 and 1922. In 1911, Slats Rodgers built the first airplane in Texas in Cleburne. He named the craft Old Soggy No.1 due to a drooping right wing. The 1883 courthouse burned to the ground on April 15, 1912, the same day the Titanic sank. Albert Bledsoe, an assistant city marshal, perished in the fire while fighting it on the second floor with a squad of men. Construction of the new courthouse, designed by Charles Erwin Barglebaugh, was completed in 1913.

By 1920, Cleburne had reached a population of 12,820. During the '20s, the failure of all four banks in town, a regional agricultural depression, and a strike at the Santa Fe shops that required the Texas Rangers to end, caused the local economy to buckle well before the Great Depression set in. Cleburne also dealt with frequent large dust storms from the Dust Bowl during the 1930s. These factors likely led to the decreased population of 10,558 in 1940. In 1935, The Civilian Conservation Corp established Company 3804 to live and work on Cleburne State Park, building roads, the dam, and stacked-rock structures, until work ceased in 1940. Between 1939 and 1940, the Works Progress Administration constructed Yellow Jacket Stadium. Built of concrete and rough-cut limestone from Somervell County, it replaced Rhome Field as the home of the Cleburne Yellow Jackets. During World War II, the library housed a war information center. In 1944, Camp Cleburne for German prisoners of war was established, which provided labor to shorthanded farms in Johnson County. Prior to the war, the Battery B, 132nd Field Artillery, 36th Infantry Division (I.D.) trained in Johnson County, later being deployed overseas in 1942. The courthouse held the draft board and rationing board.

Late 1900s to 2000s

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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