Mabank, Texas

MABANK, TEXAS. Mabank is on U.S. Highway 175, Farm Road 90, and the Southern Pacific Railroad, sixteen miles southeast of Kaufman in the southeastern corner of Kaufman County. The area was first settled by Lorenzo D. Stover in 1846. Other settlers soon moved in, and the site was purchased and platted in 1887 .  The site was first named Lawn City, which was soon renamed to Lawndale. In 1900 the Southern Pacific Railroad bypassed the nearby town of Lawndale by less than one mile. Owners of a nearby Ranch, G. W. Mason and Thomas Eubank, realized the potential that the railroad represented and quickly set aside a one-square-mile tract next to the rail line.  They platted the site on February 23, 1900 and  called the tract Mabank  (a combination of the name Mason and Eubank).

Because of the railroad and the fertility of the soil, Mabank grew rapidly. Disappointed that the railroad had missed their town, many Lawndale residents and businesses moved to the new community. In 1910 the community had a population of 412 and the town was incorporated on October 9, 1911. With agriculture in the surrounding area as its economic foundation, Mabank continued to grow. Unlike many small Texas towns, Mabank did not decline notably between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s. Its population stood at 988 in 1945, 896 in 1955, and 995 in 1966, and the number of local businesses remained relatively stable at forty. After 1966 Mabank grew dramatically, largely due to the completion of Cedar Creek Reservoir (also known as Cedar Creek Lake) in 1965. The reservoir has attracted new residents—both retirees and younger people who commute to jobs in the Dallas area—as well as tourists to the town. Mabank had a population of 1,500 in 1976 and 1,739 in 1990. In 2000 the community had 2,151 inhabitants. The 2010 census reported the population to be 3035.

—