What if a small farming community transformed into a bustling city? That’s the story of Hurst, Texas. We’re standing on land that was once part of the Arwine farming and ranching community.
Back in the mid to late 1840s farmers began settling here. Among them was Isaac Parker. He purchased a log cabin in 1853. His family cemetery is actually within Hurst’s modern city limits. After the Civil War Tennessee and Indiana families arrived. William L. Hurst of Tennessee and the Arwine and Souder families from Indiana were important settlers. The Indiana families founded a church and school in the late 1870s showing the community’s early commitment to faith and education.
The Rock Island Railroad arrived in 1903. William Hurst donated land for a depot. The railroad initially named the site Ormel because another Hurst already existed in Coryell County. The name was officially changed back to Hurst in 1909. For about thirty years stationmasters and telegraphers worked here.
Downtown Hurst was small. From 1910 to 1920 probably fewer than twenty people lived here. Agriculture wasn’t booming. So the train didn’t stop regularly. However sand and gravel excavations started south of Hurst in the Trinity riverbottoms in the early 1900s. Larger operations ran around the clock in the 1920s.
During prohibition illegal whiskey was brewed along the river selling for about $10 a gallon. After 1903 a general store opened. In the 1930s and 1940s a few grocery stores filling stations and cafes appeared. The Work Projects Administration built a brick school in 1940. The population of Hurst was around 100.
By the 1940s Hurst started to become a bedroom community for Fort Worth. The post office reopened in 1949. Old State Highway 183 was paved with concrete in 1950. Bell Aircraft announced plans to build a plant in Hurst in 1951. To avoid annexation by Fort Worth and secure a water supply Hurst voted to incorporate in 1951. A shopping center and apartments were built before the year ended.
The Hurst Chamber of Commerce formed in 1952. It merged with the Euless chamber in 1955 and Bedford joined in 1969. The Hurst and Euless school districts merged in 1955. Bedford joined in 1958 creating the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District. In 1958 about 50 percent of Hurst residents worked in Dallas and 40 percent in Fort Worth.
Hurst couldn’t grow south because of Fort Worth. So from 1956 to 1958 the city annexed land in other directions. This caused tension with neighboring “mid-cities”. The northeast campus of Tarrant County Junior College opened in Hurst in 1968 leading to more growth and jobs. During the Vietnam War Bell Helicopter employed over 11000 people building Hueys.
Hurst Euless and Bedford created a hospital district in 1969. By 1970 Hurst’s population exceeded 27200. The North East Mall opened in 1972 doubling retail sales in a month. In the early 1990s it remained the largest mall in Tarrant County.
The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport opened in 1974 further boosting the local economy. By the 1970s Hurst was almost fully developed. Its population growth slowed. Many newcomers were professionals and Republicans changing the community’s character.
Hurst’s population reached 31400 in 1980 33600 in 1990 and 36273 in 2000. In 2020 the population was about 40000. Today Hurst continues to evolve balancing its rich history with a focus on future development. From a small farming community to a thriving city Hurst’s journey is a testament to its adaptability and growth.