Prior to the appearance of Anglo settlers, enormous herds of buffalo and members of the Wichita, Caddo, Comanche and Lipan Apache Indian tribes roamed the Benbrook area. Archeologists approximate that the region has been inhabited for some 11,000 years. Indian tribes seek the same environmental elements as modern communities, with the accessibility of a sufficient water supply being a essential concern. Certainly, the merger of the Clear Fork-Trinity River and Mary’s Creek supplied such a source of water to tribes as they passed through the region on hunting expeditions.
Anglos initially settled the Benbrook location, part of the Peters’ Colony founded by the Republic of Texas, in the 1850s. W.S. Peters of Kentucky was granted a contract to bring in 250 families per year by providing 320 acres free to family men and 160 acres to individual immigrants, plus a free cabin, seed and musket balls.
A branch of the “Old Chisholm Trail” evidently passed by way of the area, crossing Mary’s Creek at Old Rawhide Crossing in the location of the current Z.Boaz Park, and served as a route to avoid the main trail route through downtown Fort Worth. A branch trail, referred to as the Long Trail or Cleburne Cut-Off, extended from Raw Hide Crossing to Cleburne and reduced the trip by 13 miles.
In 1876, local resident James M. Benbrook requested the Texas & Pacific Railroad to place a rail station along Mary’s Creek near Miranda as the railroad ran west out of Fort Worth. The line was finalized to Benbrook in May 1880 and the station was named after Benbrook Station by the railroad.
By the turn of the Century, some of the first transportation channels were set up that are still in use today, as shown on a U.S. survey from 1894. The Texas and Pacific Railroad is nowadays run by Union Pacific and travels along Mary’s and Walnut Creeks.
The primary settlement of Benbrook, located inside of a four-block area close to the railroad station, was situated next to the present junction of Interstate Highway 20 and U.S. Highway 377 along Aledo Rd. The settlement was reached from the east via the present Old Benbrook Road and Stove Foundry Road (now called Vickery). Winscott-Plover Road extended south along its present route to Dutch Branch, now sunken by Benbrook Lake. A road led east from Winscott-Plover Road near the present Mercedes Street to cross the Clear Fork. Remnants of this county road are still evident on undeveloped area north of Timber Creek.
