Town file
Lancaster, Texas
Lancaster, Texas (Dallas County, Texas) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 609, "Murder Is Life" (3 July 2025). Lancaster, Texas, is a suburb of Dallas in Dallas County, about 25 minutes from the city.
- Town
- Lancaster
- County
- Dallas County
- State
- Texas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 609
- Approximate location
- 32.596, -96.774
Episode 609 / 3 July 2025 / 167 min / full
Murder Is Life
"This is in Lancaster, Texas, which is just outside of Dallas, a Dallas suburb... This is in Dallas County." about 0:05:12
The case: Murder of Donna Sue Jester, Dalpha Lorine Jester and Laura Lee Owens (September 27th, 1986); Murder of James Carnell (November 28th, 1978); Murder of Bob Neil Rogers (December 20th, 1983); Arson deaths of Gale Allison and Elizabeth Belue (June 11th, 1986). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 41,057
- Median age
- 32.5
- Median household income
- $59,952
- Median home value
- $260,400
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,530
- Cost of living
- 100.2
- Religious
- 62.7%
- Property crime
- ▲ about 25% above the average
- Violent crime
- ▲ about 25% above the average
- Bonnie and Clyde bank robbery haul
- ▲ over $6,000
History, in brief
- About 600 families originally settled in what was known as Peter's Colony, between 1841 and 1844. about 0:06:15
- The colony was advertised heavily in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee, and most of the first settlers came from those states. about 0:06:25
- The first group to settle the area was the Roderick Rawlins family, who came from Illinois and arrived in 1844; they were among the founders of the town. about 0:06:40
- A man named Bledsoe staked the original town of Lancaster in 1852. about 0:07:07
- Bledsoe bought 430 acres from Roderick Rollins's widow and modelled the town on his hometown in Kentucky. about 0:07:21
- Lancaster is nicknamed the city of trees. about 0:05:49
- On February 27th, 1934, Bonnie waited in the getaway car while Clyde and Raymond Hamilton robbed the Lancaster bank and walked out with over $6,000. about 0:07:50
- The 1934 haul was equal to about $144,000 in 2025. about 0:08:01
The reviews read out
5 stars
"An excellent area for families; in seven years everyone met has been friendly and peaceful, an ideal place to live."about 0:08:24
3 stars
"Ups and downs; the town and school system are good, but drunk drivers are the major problem and parents are afraid to let children play outside."about 0:09:00
2 stars
"Businesses lack good customer service, the floors are always sticky, and there have been shootings at night."about 0:10:35
1 star
"There is absolutely nothing to do and the reviewer is always bored."about 0:11:08
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Gun Barrel City, Texas42 miles
- Aledo, Texas49 miles
- Axtell, Texas66 miles
- Stephenville, Texas88 miles
- Hawkins, Texas91 miles
- Dean, Texas131 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.