Belcherville

BELCHERVILLE, TEXAS . Belcherville is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and Farm Road 1816, fifteen miles northwest of Montague in northwestern Montague County. The settlement was first called Belcher, after John and Alex Belcher, area ranchers and landowners, but was renamed Belcherville by 1858. The community, however, was nothing more than the headquarters of the Belcher Ranch until 1887, when, anticipating the extension through the area of the tracks of the Gainesville, Henrietta and Western Railway, the Belchers purchased 27,000 acres of land and plotted a townsite. A post office was opened that year. The rail connection, combined with the almost complete destruction by tornado of nearby Red River Station in 1890, contributed to Belcherville's growth and development as an area cattle and cotton shipping point. By 1893 it had been incorporated, and more than twenty businesses operated there. By 1900 Belcherville had 305 residents, thirty businesses, and two schools.