DeCORDOVA

DeCordova is a gated residential community located on Lake Granbury and west of Farm Road 1190 about six miles east-southeast of Granbury in eastern Hood County. The city, situated in the area of what was called the De Cordova Bend of the Brazos River and named for land agent Jacob De Cordova, began in the late 1960s as an 850-acre development in conjunction with the construction of Lake Granbury. This subdivision was the first on the lake and was initially started by the Leonard family. These sons and sons-in-law of Obadiah Paul Leonard, a cofounder of the well-known Leonard Brothers department stores in Fort Worth, were landowners and pecan growers in the region. Their new community was intended to serve as a weekend recreational getaway for residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Highway maps in the 1970s and 1980s showed the development as DeCordova Bend Estates. On January 15, 2000, the city incorporated as DeCordova, and, as the first to incorporate in Texas following the turn of the century, laid claim to the title of Texas's "Millennium City." DeCordova has a mayor/council form of government, and all residents are members of the DeCordova Bend Estates Owners Association and the DeCordova Bend Estates Country Club. The owners' association consists of a board of directors, manager, and staff that oversee various city operations regarding issues of security, recreation, water, emergency services, sanitation, architecture, and beautification. The country club includes a club house, golf course, marina, and other recreational amenities. In July 2002 DeCordova had an estimated population of 2,989 and was the second-largest incorporated city in Hood County.