President William H. Taft - 1909 Reinactment

A Little History

Founded in 1873, Wills Point gets its name from its first American settler, William Wills, who had arrived in the area in about 1846 and built a cabin. The name 'point' may also derive from the shape of the original timberline near the Wills cabin, though there have been unfounded arguments that the name relates to the area's elevation. The layout of the city was the work of engineer General Grenville M. Dodge of the California Construction Company. The downtown streets were laid with red bricks upon packed sand in the 1920's by locals and remain in use to this day. Downtown Wills Point has many of its original buildings that are over a hundred years old including the Wills cabin, a drug store, a dry good store, and a law office. Governor George W. Bush officially named Wills Point as the Bluebird Capital of Texas in 1995.

The Majestic Movie theater was opened in 1926 by Karl C. LyBrand and is still family operated by Karl C. Lybrand III. It is the oldest continuously operated movie theater in Texas.

Wills Point is also proud of the Bruce & Human Drug Company, located on the corner of 4th Street and James, it was built in 1879 and is the oldest family owned drug store in Texas.  Read the Newspaper article here in the Van Zandt News.