Historic Timeline

The City of Fate is one of the fastest-growing communities in all of DFW.  From a population of just over 600 in the year 2000, Fate's population is estimated to be over 12,000 as of January 1, 2017.  The recently adopted Comprehensive Plan shows the City of Fate growing to over 50,000 at build-out. Check out the amazing app below to see satellite images of Fate over the last several decades.

The collection of dates below show both events that occurred in Fate’s local history as well as national and worldwide events. These were placed on the list as an indicator of how certain events may have affected the local history. 

Timeline of Historic Events
Date Event
1713 Texas Land Grants Begin
August 1, 1831 Dr. Wiley Turner Barnes is Born in Alabama
January 3, 1835 George Washington Lafayette “Fate” Peyton is Born in Tennessee
December 29, 1845 The Republic of Texas joins the United States of America
1860s  William Lafayette Brown and GW Lafayette Peyton - two influential gentlemen nicknamed “Fate” lived in the area, for which the town was named after. 
April 12, 1861 Civil War Begins
December 24, 1864 Dr. Wiley Turner Barnes purchased 320 acres from Mark Crabtree, the original land grantee and named the area the town of Barnes. The current downtown location.
April 9, 1865 Civil War Ends 
1876 Matthes “Massey” Zollner and his wife, Elizabeth, established a ranch near Fate, Rockwall County.
July 13, 1880 Fate Post Office is Established in the town of Fate located one-and-a-half miles to the north of its current location on Farm to Market Road 552.
December 27, 1880 Joseph H. Kirby appointed as Fate Postmaster
November 23, 1881 C. Jouett appointed as Fate Postmaster
January 19, 1882 Napolean B. Jouett appointed as Fate Postmaster
1886  The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad constructed a line to run through Barnes
October 25, 1886 Calvin Davidson appointed as Fate Postmaster
December 1886 William Lafayette “Fate” Brown moved to Rockwall to become the sheriff of Rockwall County
February 11, 1887 The town of Barnes and Fate Combine. Barnes takes the name Fate. 
Mid 1880 Fate’s population is 100 people
1890’s  Fate business prospered
November 1892 William Lafayette “Fate” Brown steps down as Sheriff. 
1893 William Lafayette “Fate” Brown becomes the Rockwall Post Master
1894 Presbyterians build the first church in Fate
April 5, 1894 Robert J. Lowry appointed as Fate Postmaster
December 3, 1896 Fate Masonic Lodge No. 802 formed by J.B. Young as the first Worshipful Master and 23 members. The members we mostly merchants and farmers.
1897  William Lafayette “Fate” Brown Steps down as the Rockwall Postmaster
October 20, 1897 Calvin B. Davidson appointed Fate Postmaster
1898 Baptist church met in the schoolhouse. 
August 1, 1899 Fate became the first town in Texas to have a rural mail route.
1900 Fate population 500
September 27, 1900 City of Fate Incorporates 
September 2, 1901 Rural mail route was redesignated as Route 3
December 31, 1901 Dr. Wiley Turner Barnes dies. 
1902 Methodist and Christian churches were built
August 31, 1903 William Lafayette “Fate” Brown dies. 
November 28, 1905 Cornelius W. Lowry appointed as Fate Postmaster
December 31, 1906 Fire engulfed the south side of the Fate business district
1907 – 1910 Fate Baseball is all the rage. 
1910 Fire destroyed the north side of town
1911 Two story brick Fate School is built for $13,000. The building serves all grades up to 11th. 
July 28, 1914  World War I begins
1914 High demand for cotton during World War I. Texas exported approximately 85 percent of the total crop.
January 15, 1915 Leila Price appointed as Fate Postmaster
September 1, 1915 George Washington Lafayette “Fate” Peyton dies. 
1917 United States enter World War I
November 11, 1918 World War I Ended
1918 - 1919 Worldwide H1N1 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) - It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.
1920’s Decline in cotton production due to federal government’s control program. The drop-in prices after the war led many tenants and sharecroppers to abandon farming altogether and move to the cities for better job opportunities.
1920’s A branch of the coast-to-coast Bankhead National Highway came through Fate on Highway 67
1920 Dorothy Smith Pullen formed a sewing club as a form of entertainment.
March 6, 1924 Hilbert Cauble appointed as Fate Postmaster
1926 Presbyterians built a new church and it still stands in downtown today.
July 18, 1926 Mrs. Leila Price appointed as Fate Postmaster
December 31, 1926 Mrs. Leila C. Coleman appointed as Fate Postmaster
August 1929 The Great Depression begins
July 30, 1929 Fire destroys four local businesses - $27,000 in damage
1930 Fate’s populations falls to 194
1930 Circle Ten Council Boy Scout Troop No. 201 was formed by Scout Master W. T. Estes
1931 Gilbert Hogg takes office as the Tax Assessor of Rockwall County
1933 Four churches combine into Fate Community Church in the newest building, the First Presbyterian Church. 
March 1933  End the Great Depression
July 4, 1933 Tornado devastates Fate
1934 Gilbert Hogg’s offices of Tax Assessor/Collector combine to include Sheriff.
1941 United States entered World War II
1941 Farmworkers moved again to the cities for work in war-related industries.
1942 Gilbert Hogg was appointed an agent with the Texas Liquor Control Board and dies.
1949 Fate School Closes due to lack of enrollment
July 1. 1949 Maggie Burton appointed as Fate Postmaster
1950 - 1957 CW Holt served as Mayor of Fate
1950 Fate Population 150
1950 Fate loses all mail routes 
1950 Railroad depot is sold to the Dallas Old City Park
June 25, 1950  Korean War
July 31, 1950 James L. Cannon appointed as Fate Postmaster
1953 Fate Community Center is built. The Fate Masonic Lodge No. 802 owns the second floor.
August 1957 Interstate 30 opened as a toll road (tolls ended in (1957)
1957 – 1990 WE Crawford served as Mayor of Fate
1958 North Texas Municipal Water District admitted Fate into its district.
August 16, 1959 The installation of water lines by residents was complete. Running water was now available in homes. 
1960-1962 Youth Baseball League is played in park
January 6, 1961 Laura L. Crawford is appointed as Fate Postmaster
March 8, 1965  United States enters Vietnam War
1969 Mayor WE Crawford requested sewer lines in Austin. A grant was given to accomplish the task.
1970 City Council began to dream of expansion with a neighborhood called Woodcreek
1971 Construction of Lake Ray Hubbard
1971 Centex home builders purchased 1700 acres of land to build a “model city”
March 29, 1973  Last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam.
1975 Centex developer gave the city of Fate a fire truck.
1979 Sanitary sewer lines installed 
1980’s Police and telephone companies adopted the 911-system requiring streets to be named and houses to be numbered.
1984 Fate purchases its first tractor
1986 Streets in Fate were paved
1988 First garbage collection contract was signed
1990 Fate Population 475
1990 – 1992 Mary Rolfe served as Mayor of Fate
August 2, 1990 The Gulf War begins
1990 Fate Girls created a museum of historic memorabilia in City Hall 
February 28, 1991 The Gulf War ends
1992 – 1994  Rick Tolbert served as Mayor of Fate
November 16, 1993 Downtown Fate post office closes doors (Currently Rockwall Electric)
November 17, 1993  New post office opens along SH 66
1994 – 2000 Gerry Boren served as Mayor of Fate
2000 Fate Population 497
2000 – February 3, 2003  George Melendez served as Mayor of Fate. 
March 2001 City Manager Gerry Boren Hired
September 11, 2001 Four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States
2002  Subdivisions began to be built. Fate population 1,145
2003 The suburban sprawl began a population boom and within one year the city saw a 51% increase to 2,030.
February 2003 – May 2003 Mayor Pro-Tem Linda Tolbert served as Mayor of Fate
2003 – 2008 David Hill served as Mayor of Fate
2004 Woodcreek Water Tower is built
2005  First 200 homes built in Woodcreek
August 2007 City Manager Gerry Boren Resigned
2007 – 2009  The Great Recession, or the economic downturn after the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble and the global financial crisis.
November 2008 Established Home Rule Charter
2008 - 2014 Bill Broderick served as Mayor of Fate
November 10, 2008 City Manager Vicki Mikel Hired
2008  The four denominations of churches that worshiped in harmony separate.  
2010 Fate population 6,357
February 7, 2012 City Manager Vicki Mikel passes away
June 2012 City Manager Philip Rodriguez hired
September 2013 City Manager Philip Rodriguez resigned
October 2013  Established a Fate Department of Public Safety
2014- 2019  Lorne Megyesi served as Mayor of Fate
2014 Purchase of the ladder fire truck
April 2014 City Manager Michael Kovacs hired
September 2015  Demolition of Farm-to-Market 551 bridge over Interstate 30.
2016 Water Tower Completed in Williamsburg
February 2017  Demolition of Farm-to-Market 3549 bridge over Interstate 30.
March 2017  Completion of Farm-to-Market 551 bridge over Interstate 30.
2017 Fate purchases land in downtown for redevelopment purposes. 
March 2018 FItness Court in Robert Smith Family Park opens
July 2018 New Farm-to-Market 3549 bridge opens
2018 Fate purchase land for a community park in southern section of the city
2018  Fate purchase land to expand downtown park
2019 Fate population 17,500
May 2019 Joe Burger was elected as Mayor of Fate
August 2019 Robert Smith Family Park receives splash pad, benches, shade structures and lights on the basketball court
March 2020 Coronavirus COVID-19 World pandemic
Spring 2020 Villages at Fate three story mixed-use building completed
January 2021 Mayor Joe Burger Resigns honorably
February 2021 Winter storm Uri freezes North Texas
March 2021 Mayor David Billings - fills the unexpired term of Mayor
May 2021 Mayor David Billings was elected as Mayor of Fate
July 2021 Former Mayor Joe Burger passes away
July 2021 $15 million General Obligation Road Bond issued for Fate road projects
2022 Fate population 23,000
March 2022 Fresh by Brookshire's Grand Opening
November 2022 Joe Burger Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony