GRAFORD, TEXAS. Graford is on State Highway 254 and Farm Road 206, in north central Palo Pinto County, midway between Graham and Weatherford, the towns from which it takes its name. In 1854 George R. Bevers surveyed a homestead at Flat Rock Crossing on Big Keechi Creek, three miles east of what was to become the townsite; in 1855 he built a home that became a stopping place for travelers between Fort Belknap and Weatherford. The store of Ansell Russell and Willis Mills on the Fort Worth-Fort Belknap Road was the community's first business. In 1894 William S. Green became Graford's first postmaster. By 1920 the community had a population of 313, and by 1940 it had incorporated and had a population of 804 and a bank. In 1980 Graford's population was reported as 495, and in 1990 it was 561. By 2000 the population reached 578. Graford is twelve miles east of Possum Kingdom Lake, a popular recreation center.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kathleen E. and Clifton R. St. Clair, eds., Little Towns of Texas (Jacksonville, Texas: Jayroe Graphic Arts, 1982).

Claudia Hazlewood