Founded in 1852 as a frontier post, Lancaster is only 15 minutes from downtown Dallas and strategically placed adjacent to the south sector of the Dallas city limits. Enjoying the amenities of big city life while maintaining a home town environment, Lancaster has a rich historical heritage that points to a proud past.
Lancaster is one of the oldest communities in north central Texas. The area was first settled by members of the Peters Colony. On August 30, 1841, Republic of Texas President Lamar signed a contract with the W.S. Peters Company, authorizing the introduction of 600 families into Texas. The first group to arrive in the Lancaster area was led by Roderick Rawlins and his family. The Rawlins group set out from Greene County, Illinois, in September 1844 and arrived in the Lancaster area on January 2, 1845. They settled on the north bank of Ten Mile Creek, forming a community known as Hardscrabble. This temporary community consisted of two rows of log structures near the north edge of what is today Edgewood Cemetery on Nokomis Road.
Pleasant Run, the second community to be established in the Lancaster area, was founded in 1846, several miles north of Hardscrabble. M.M. Miller, and his wife Polly, who was one of Roderick Rawlins' daughters, built a two-room structure near what is now the intersection of Pleasant Run Road and Dallas Avenue. The Millers lived in one half of the building and established a general store in the other half. In 1848, the Millers' store became a post office as well, with biweekly delivery, and Miller was appointed postmaster. By the 1850s, Miller had laid out a town and sold lots; however, he never filed a plat of the town with Dallas County. At its peak, Pleasant Run boasted a stage stop, a hotel, a tin shop, a blacksmith, a woodworking shop, a steam-powered grist mill, and a school, in addition to the Millers' store.