McGregor started like many towns of the American West — with a railroad. 

Today, 127 years later, the city celebrates its beginnings with Founders Day, a free festival in downtown McGregor.

The festival kicks off at 10 a.m. today with a parade on Main Street. Activities also include live music, games for kids, a petting zoo, tournaments and a street dance. Recent staples of the event include 5- and 10-kilometer runs along with a 1K race for children. A popular addition in recent years has been lawnmower races, with some souped-up grass-cutters plowing down the street.

The event pays homage to the countries and cultures where McGregor residents came from. Past Founders Days have acknowledged the contributions of six cultures, including Scottish, German, Mexican, African-American, Native American and early Texan.

Dr. Gregor C. McGregor, the town’s namesake, sold the Santa Fe Railroad a piece of land he owned after a group in Waco blocked approval of the tracks in their city, according to an article in The McGregor Mirror, the town’s weekly newspaper. Dr. McGregor also sold land to the Texas and St. Louis railway.  A small town known as McGregor Springs formed where the two railways crossed.

In 1882, McGregor Springs merged with Banks, another railroad town, and the two communities were incorporated as the city of McGregor. On Sept. 7, land plots, starting at $40, were sold out of a railroad flatcar. 

McGregor boasted 27 businesses by the end of September 1882.

Unlike other train stations, McGregor’s station isn’t a museum or artifact of a nearly extinct mode of transportation. Amtrak services the station twice daily. 

The town of about 5,000 is expected to swell to 10,000 on Founders Day, said Bonnie Mullens, whose family has published The McGregor Mirror for three generations. 

Bands at the festival include The GTOs, After Midnight, and Classie Ballou and The Zydeco Trendsetters. The street dance at 3rd and Main streets will be from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Proceeds from the event have been used to improve the city’s main street to being dedicated to citywide improvements. Funds generated have been used to assist with the beautification of parks, the reconstruction of the train depot and a community center that city officials are hoping to build.

For more information, visit www.mcgregor-texas.com/foundersday.htm, call 840-0123 or e-mail mmullens@mcgregor-texas.com.

Ken Sury and the Handbook of Texas Online contributed to this story.

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