Progress and challenges thumb|left|200px|Lancaster's Historic MKT Depot and Rose Garden During the American Civil War, the Tucker, Sherrod &and Company contracted with the State of Texas to manufacture replicas of the .44 caliber Colt Dragoon from a factory on West Main Street in Lancaster. John M. Crockett, former mayor of Dallas and lieutenant governor of Texas, served as superintendent of the arms factory. In the early years of Reconstruction, a drought crippled the economy to such an extent that few residents could afford more than the most basic of necessities. The economy did not fully recover until well into the 1870s, due in large part to the town's proximity to heavily trafficked cattle trails. The first public well was dug in the city's town square in 1876. Fires destroyed parts of the square in 1877, 1889, and again in 1918, each time being promptly rebuilt. Local telephone service came to Lancaster in 1881. Lancaster was incorporated on May 5, 1886. One year later, the Lancaster Herald newspaper began printing.
Progress and challenges thumb|left|200px|Lancaster's Historic MKT Depot and Rose Garden During the American Civil War, the Tucker, Sherrod &and Company contracted with the State of Texas to manufacture replicas of the .44 caliber Colt Dragoon from a factory on West Main Street in Lancaster. John M. Crockett, former mayor of Dallas and lieutenant governor of Texas, served as superintendent of the arms factory. In the early years of Reconstruction, a drought crippled the economy to such an extent that few residents could afford more than the most basic of necessities. The economy did not fully recover until well into the 1870s, due in large part to the town's proximity to heavily trafficked cattle trails. The first public well was dug in the city's town square in 1876. Fires destroyed parts of the square in 1877, 1889, and again in 1918, each time being promptly rebuilt. Local telephone service came to Lancaster in 1881. Lancaster was incorporated on May 5, 1886. One year later, the Lancaster Herald newspaper began printing.