Renner

Renner, east of State Highway 289 in southwestern Collin County, was established in 1888 as a stop on the Cotton Belt line (officially known as the St. Louis Southwestern Railway of Texas). The community was named for John A. Renner, a railroad engineer in charge of developing townsites along the Cotton Belt line. A post office was established in 1888 to serve the fifty residents of Renner, and within twenty years the town became a commercial and community center for area farmers. In 1915 its population reached 300, a figure that was not surpassed until 1965. The Great Depression and the development of mechanized farming contributed to a sharp decline in population, and by 1947 Renner had 100 residents and two businesses. After World War II the Texas Research Foundation, a nonprofit agricultural research organization, selected Renner as the site of its agricultural laboratories. From 1950 to the late 1960s the population of Renner grew steadily, reaching 394 in 1969. After 1977 the Texas Almanac no longer listed it as an independent community, and by 1983 Renner had been incorporated into the city of Dallas.