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is a town in northern Cherokee and southern Smith Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 69 and Farm-to-Market Roads 2137, 2493, and 344, about 12 miles south of Tyler. The population was 1,150 at the 2000 census.
The town lies in two counties as well as two primary census statistical areas. The Smith County portion of the city is part of the Tyler Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Cherokee County portion is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Bullard was earlier known as Etna and Hewsville. The town is named for John H., a Confederate soldier, and Emma Eugenia (Erwin) Bullard. In 1881, John Bullard opened the Hewsville post office in his store. In 1883 the Etna post office, near Hewsville, was closed. Then the Hewsville office was renamed Bullard. Many rural residents in northern Cherokee County are served by the Bullard post office. The bypassing of the railroad brought about the demise of Etna and the rise of Bullard.
The Etna post office, just west of Bullard was granted in 1867, even though settlers had been in the vicinity since the early 1850s. John and Emma Bullard arrived about 1870 and a new post office named Hewsville opened in Bullard's store in 1881. This caused the closing of the Etna post office in 1883 and a renaming of the Hewsville post office to Bullard.
When the Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad extended their route from Tyler to Lufkin they passed through Bullard and built a depot. In 1890 there were 200 residents and the town had most essential business plus a doctor and a telegraph office.
The railroad was renamed several times - becoming the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway and then (1892) the Tyler and Southwestern Railway. In 1903 the two schools (segregated) had five teachers and 186 students between them.
By 1914 the population had doubled to 400 and the railroad changed names once again - becoming the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad.
The 1920s saw the opening of a theater and the forming of a community band. The town also gained some notoriety for its unique holding tank - a 7 foot diameter wooden tub with bars mounted on a wagon frame. When full, the contraption was driven to Tyler for emptying.
The population was still just 450 after WWII and the community didn't get a city council until and until 1948.
By the mid 1960s the population had declined to only 300 but rebounded by 1973 when it was back up to 573. The community is now concentrated around the crossroads and most resident commute to nearby Tyler.