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Settlement of the area began in 1845, when Illinois resident Crawford Trees purchased several thousand acres south of Camp Dallas. In 1880 the Chicago, Texas and Mexican Central Railway reached the area and built Duncan Switch, named for a line foreman. Charles P. Nance, the community's first postmaster, renamed the settlement Duncanville in 1882. By the late 1800s Duncanville was home to a dry goods stores, a pharmacy, a domino parlor, and a school. Between 1904 and 1933 the population of Duncanville increased from 113 to more than
300. During World War II, the Army Air Corp established a landing field for flight training on property near the present day intersection of Main and Wheatland roads. Duncanville residents incorporated the city on Aug. 2, 1947. During the post war years, the military developed the Army’s old landing field into the Duncanville Air Force Station, which was the headquarters for the four Nike Hercules missile launch sites guarding Dallas/Fort Worth from Soviet bomber attack. It also housed the Air Force tracking radars for the region. When the town's population reached 5,000 in 1962, citizens adopted a home-rule charter with council-manager city government. Sometimes regarded as a so-called "white flight" suburb in the 1960s and 1970s, the city is now known for its racial diversity. (See "Demographics") Its population increased from about 13,000 in 1970 to more than 31,000 in 1988 The Texas Historical Commission has designated the City of Duncanville as an official Main Street City. Duncanville has a long-term commitment to recognizing its history. When the Duncanville Air Force Station was closed about 1970, the entire facility was turned over to the city. The WWII-era barracks and some other structures were initially repurposed for civic and community use. Over time the buildings were systematically demolished, obliterating all signs of the historic base. But the history of the facility lives on in a monument, which stands outside the Library and Community Center. The “stone igloo,” a spring house originally located near the intersection of Center Street and Cedar Ridge Road, was preserved in a unique way. In the late 1960s or early 1970s it was demolished, thereby producing a supply of rocks that were used to build a replica of the structure at a nearby park and paving the way for the construction of a neighborhood retail center. Various pieces of the city’s history are preserved at the Duncanville Historical Park, which is located on Wheatland Road in Armstrong Park on land that was once a part of the Duncanville Air Force Station. Historic buildings include the city’s first Music Room |
Duncanville