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ANDREW HAYTER
reverend andrew shannon hayter (1818-1900) was one of
the earliest settlers in this area, and is considered by many
to be the "father of arlington." a native of tennessee, hayter
left alabama with his family in late 1850 and arrived
in texas shortly after, settling first in nacogdoches. over
the next forty-nine years hayter would establish or serve
sixteen cumberland presbyterian churches. as with many
pioneer preachers, hayter worked in another profession, as
a surveyor, to augment his income.
the hayters moved to tarrant county in 1869, where
andrew quickly made a name for himself as a preacher,
civic leader and surveyor. during the early 1870s a tiny
settlement developed on the edge of hayter's property, and
he petitioned for a post office in 1875. the post office was
called hayterville.
hayter had already founded two churches, a school,
and a masonic lodge in the area when he was asked in 1876
to locate the railroad through eastern tarrant county
and lay out a tiny, half-mile-square settlement between
dallas and fort worth. the railroad designers needed in-
depth knowledge of the area and its terrain, as well as a
plentiful source of timber to construct the road bed.
andrew hayter could supply the necessary surveying
knowledge, and also owned property filled with large
timbers that could be furnished to the railroad. when the
railroad offered to name their new town hayter, the
reverend declined the offer and instead gave the town the
name arlington, after robert e. lee's virginia estate. the
birth of arlington caused the demise of tiny hayterville. the
post office was soon moved to the new town and
hayterville was abandoned.
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