City of Royse City

City of Royse City Municipal Water Report Info

About Our History
Our mission is to protect our local environment, deliver efficient government services, and create a safe community that enhances quality of life for all residents.

Garrett Burgess Griffin Royse, City Founder
Born January 31, 1838 in Adair County, Kentucky to William and Mary Stone Royse, Garrett Burgess Griffin Royse (also known as Byrd Royse) was the seventh of fourteen children. He proudly served in the Confederate Army's 19th Regiment Missouri Infantry during the Civil War.

Around 1850, Mr. Royse's future grandmother-in-law and her sons acquired several land tracts that eventually became Royse City. After marrying her granddaughter on August 8, 1880, they remained together until his death in 1928. Mrs. Nancy Royse passed away 7 years later.

Approximately 1886, Mr. Royse created the town plat and sold the first lot to Alf Reese and his nephew Albert Royse. During this period, he was instrumental in bringing the MK&T Railroad line from Greenville to Dallas through Rockwall County. Family stories suggest Mr. Royse offered land for a train station on the condition they name it Royse City.

After lots sold well and local land values increased, the Royse family sold their portion and joined roughly 100,000 others in the 1893 Oklahoma Land Rush. Mr. Royse acquired land in Custer County near Foss, Oklahoma, where he and his wife lived until their deaths. Both are buried in Stafford Cemetery near Foss.

Downtown Royse City 1920s
Many brick buildings from the 1920s downtown area remain in use today. The structure housing the Zaner Robinson Historical Museum gained National Register of Historic Places designation in 1994, with the Museum occupying the first floor and Masonic Lodge on the second floor.