Wills Point, Texas

History

Founded in 1873, Wills Point derives its name from an early American settler, William Wills, who arrived in the area circa 1848. He purchased a cabin from Adam Sullivan in 1852. The name "point" may also derive from the shape of the original timberline near the cabin, though unsubstantiated arguments have indicated that the name relates to the area's elevation. The layout of the city was the work of engineer General Grenville M. Dodge of the California Construction Company. The downtown streets laid with red bricks upon packed sand in the 1920s by locals remain in use. Downtown Wills Point has many of its original buildings that are over 100 years old, including the Wills cabin, a drug store, a dry good store, and a law office.

Governor George W. Bush officially named Wills Point the Bluebird Capital of Texas in 1995.

The Majestic Movie theater was the oldest continuously operated movie theater in Texas run by a single family, operated by Karl C. Lybrand, Karl C. Lybrand Jr., and Karl C. Lybrand III from 1926 until its closure in 2010.

The Bruce and Human Drug Company, built in 1879, was the oldest family-owned drug store in Texas; it closed in 2023.

Wills Point is also the final resting place for Trailblazer, the first commercially operated monorail system in the United States.

GFA World, a Christian missionary organization, is located seven miles outside the city.

From the History section of Wills Point, Texas on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.