Imagine standing in front of the Pioneers of Mustang Branch Plaque. It gives you a feeling of a bygone era when small communities thrived on the fertile land. The Pioneers of Mustang Branch Plaque reminds us that the city of Farmers Branch, a major Dallas County commercial center, wasn’t always a bustling metro area. It used to be a quaint place, known as Mustang Branch, where settlers were drawn to the fertile soil and a creek called Mustang Branch. The creek would often be visited by wild horses, maybe that’s why they called it that. Farmers Branch was a place where early settlers, Thomas Keenan, Isaac Webb, and William Cochran, built lives with the area’s rich resources.
The Pioneers of Mustang Branch Plaque reminds us that the first church in Dallas County was built in 1845 by Isaac Webb. The Methodist church, known as Webb’s Chapel, was a gathering place for the early pioneers. It also housed the first school in the area which opened in 1846. Another pioneer, William Bowles, a Baptist minister and blacksmith, built the first blacksmith shop in Dallas County in 1845. He was joined by his slave Jordan, who was the skilled blacksmith. The settlers of Mustang Branch had a lot of firsts, as they also had a crucial role in establishing the first cotton gin in Dallas County in 1849. The Pioneers of Mustang Branch Plaque, located in Farmers Branch, Texas, is a testament to the legacy of these trailblazers who helped shape the history of Dallas County.