Editing Lancaster, Texas (section)

=== Progress and challenges ===
[[File:MKTDepot LancasterTX.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Lancaster's Historic MKT Depot and Rose Garden]]
During the [[American Civil War]], the Tucker, Sherrod &and Company contracted with the State of Texas to manufacture replicas of the .44 caliber [[Colt Dragoon]] from a factory on West Main Street in Lancaster.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dlg01 | title = Gun Manufacturing During The Civil War  | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2014-02-12}}</ref> [[John M. Crockett]], former mayor of Dallas and lieutenant governor of Texas, served as superintendent of the arms factory.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcr25 | title = Crockett, John McClannahan | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2014-02-12}}</ref> In the early years of [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]], a drought crippled the economy to such an extent that few residents could afford more than the most basic of necessities.  The economy did not fully recover until well into the 1870s, due in large part to the town's proximity to heavily trafficked cattle trails. The first public well was dug in the city's town square in 1876. Fires destroyed parts of the square in 1877, 1889, and again in 1918, each time being promptly rebuilt.<ref name="Historic District Study"/> Local telephone service came to Lancaster in 1881. Lancaster was incorporated on May 5, 1886.<ref name="1998 DCHC"/> One year later, the ''Lancaster Herald'' newspaper began printing.<ref name="Texas Handbook"/>

In December 1888, Lancaster's train depot opened as a stop on the [[Dallas and Waco Railway]]. In 1891, it became part of the [[Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad]] (MKT) line, running from Dallas to the [[Gulf Coast]] of Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lhsweb.org/depot.htm |title=MKT Depot and Rose Garden |work=Internet Archive |publisher=Lancaster Historical Society |access-date=2014-02-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211135623/http://www.lhsweb.org/depot.htm |archive-date=February 11, 2012 }}</ref> The [[Lancaster Tap Railroad]], completed in 1890, connected the MKT line in Lancaster with the Dallas-[[Houston]] line of the [[Houston and Texas Central Railway]] (H&TC) in [[Hutchins, Texas|Hutchins]], 4.5 miles away. It operated for 44 years.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eql03 | title = Lancaster Tap Railroad | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2014-02-12}}</ref> Rene Paul "R.P." Henry opened the first official bank in 1889. By 1897, the town had a public school, [[Masonic Temple]], a chapter of the [[International Order of Odd Fellows]], and a variety of Christian churches. From 1898 to 1901, [[Texas Christian University]] founder [[Randolph Clark]] established Randolph College in Lancaster.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcl12 | title = Clark, Randolph | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2014-02-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbr01 | title = Randolph College | publisher = [[The Handbook of Texas]] online | access-date = 2014-02-12}}</ref> After its closure, the facilities were used continuously until they burned in a 1912 fire.<ref name="Comprehensive Plan">{{cite web | url = http://tx-lancaster.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/Home/View/365 | title = Comprehensive Plan | work = Historical Background | publisher = City of Lancaster, Texas | date =  2002-02-25 | access-date = 2014-02-12}}</ref>