Bardwell

Brief History of Bardwell

The community developed in the early 1880s when John W Bardwell built a cotton gin a mile southwest of the present townsite. Due to its location in an outstanding cotton producing area, Bardwell prospered through the 1920s. Besides its three cotton gins, the town had two banks, six grocery stores, four dry goods stores, a gristmill, a lumberyard, and a weekly newspaper called the Herald.

Additional Information

  • Bardwell is on Farm Road 984 and State Highway 34 just west of Bardwell Lake and ten miles southeast of Waxahachie in southeastern Ellis County.
  • Population approximately 580.