Long before European settlement, the land that is now Garland was inhabited by various indigenous peoples, including the Caddo and later the Comanche, who hunted along the creeks and prairies of North Texas. European-American settlers began arriving in the 1850s, drawn by the fertile soil of the Blackland Prairie.
The genesis of Garland is rooted in a late-19th-century rivalry between two neighboring settlements: Embree and Duck Creek. When the Santa Fe Railroad came through the area in 1886, a dispute arose over where the local post office should be located. In 1887, visiting U.S. Representative Joe Abbott resolved the conflict by moving the post office directly between the two towns and naming the new consolidated community after U.S. Attorney General Augustus Hill Garland. The city officially incorporated in 1891.
Garland's history is marked by resilience. In 1927, a devastating F4 tornado destroyed much of the city and claimed several lives, but the community quickly rebuilt. Following World War II, Garland transitioned from a small agricultural town known for cotton and onions into a booming industrial and suburban center. The arrival of companies like Kraft Foods and the Resistol Hat Company established the city's manufacturing pedigree. Over the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Garland matured into a heavily diversified, multicultural city, reflecting the broader demographic evolution of modern Texas.