Details for Bill and Maude Dodson House

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5507014034

Data

Marker Number 14034
Atlas Number 5507014034
Marker Title Bill and Maude Dodson House
Index Entry Dodson, Bill and Maude, House
Address 2504 Farmers Branch Ln
City Farmers Branch
County Dallas
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 697043
UTM Northing 3643915
Subject Codes Colonial Revival; municipal official
Marker Year 2007
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Yes
Marker Location 2540 Farmers Branch Ln.
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text This historic Farmers Branch residence was the home of the city's first mayor. William F. (Bill) Dodson (1895-1949), a native of Malakoff, married Maude Gilmore (1896-1998) in Fort Worth in July 1917. The following May, Bill became a private in the 36th Infantry Division, serving in France's Meuse-Argonne sector during the First World War The Dodsons'son Smith was born in November 1918. After the war, the Dodson family lived in Dallas and became active in real estate and oil. They moved to Farmers Branch in the 1930s and commissioned contractor Ross Faulkner to design a house to Maude's specifications. Completed by 1937, it was originally closer to Farmers Branch Creek but moved to its present site in 1942. In January 1946, Bill Dodson learned the city of Dallas, with city limits then 12 miles distant, planned to annex the Farmers Branch community. He and his neighbors circulated a petition for a local incorporation election. Citizens voted approval, and in April they elected Dodson the first mayor. H.O. Good, Lawson Lewis, Raymond Milloway, Thomas Reeder and Glenn Templin became the first aldermen. The new city council held three meetings in the Dodson House, with others conducted at Mason Lodge No. 395, where Dodson was a member. During his two-year term as mayor, Farmers Branch hired its first city employees, established a fire department and water system, and joined the League of Texas Municipalities. Maude stayed in the house until 1983, donating it to the city as the core of a heritage park. The Colonial Revival one-story frame house has telescoping wings, side gables, wood siding, six-over-one windows and a slender pedimented entry with square columns. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2007

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