What's with Duck Creek and Embree? Garland began in 1887 as a post office set between two feuding railroad towns, Duck Creek and Embree, named for Attorney General Augustus Garland. The feud was real: when two railroads built rival depots in 1886, old Duck Creek split into two new towns — Duck Creek on the Katy line and Embree on the Santa Fe — that fought over everything, the post office most of all. A fire gutted old Duck Creek's business district; Embree grabbed the mail; injunctions flew; the fight landed in court. In late 1887 Congressman Joseph Abbott settled it the Texas way — he had the post office moved to neutral ground exactly midway between the two depots, and on December 9, 1887 it opened under a brand-new name. Local legend says both towns accepted it because Augustus Garland had never set foot in Texas: nobody knew him, so nobody could object.
And the modern city may be the best chapter yet. Garland today is one of the most diverse communities in Texas — with deep Hispanic roots and one of the region's most vibrant Vietnamese communities, whose markets and kitchens have become a destination in their own right. Lake Ray Hubbard brings sails, boat ramps, and shoreline parks to the eastern edge; Spring Creek Forest Preserve keeps a rare stand of old-growth Blackland forest; and the old square downtown — with the Plaza's neon glowing — hosts the city that two feuding depot camps accidentally built together.
Why People Visit Garland Texas
People come to Garland for its easy place in the Metroplex — a historic square and a real founding story, lake recreation on Ray Hubbard, and green preserves — all minutes northeast of Dallas. It's practical, green, and neighborly: the town that two railroads accidentally built.
