MILBURN, TEXAS. Milburn is one mile south of the Colorado River near Farm Road 765 in the northeastern corner of McCulloch County. The nearby settlements of Dugout and Beasley's Crossing on the Colorado River attracted settlers to the region before the Civil War. Milburn itself had its beginnings in 1873, when a man named Milburn built a store. A post office opened in 1878. By 1884 the community had a steam gristmill, three churches, a district school, a general store, a hotel, and 150 residents. In 1894 a bridge was built over the Colorado River near the town, and Milburn hoped that the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railroad would build over that crossing in 1903. The town and the railroad failed to come to terms, however, and in 1904 the railroad found its own crossing a few miles to the west. Milburn suffered for lack of the railroad and was further isolated when a flood washed out a section of its bridge in 1936. The undamaged portion of the bridge was moved to Waldrip. Milburn's post office was discontinued in 1936. The population was 283 in 1933 but fell to 150 by 1941; 100 residents and two businesses were reported from 1949 to 1961. In 2000 the population was eight.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jessie Laurie Barfoot, History of McCulloch County, Texas (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1937). Wayne Spiller, comp., Handbook of McCulloch County History (Vol. 1, Seagraves, Texas: Pioneer, 1976; vol. 2, Canyon, Texas: Staked Plains Press, 1986).
