Pres. Polk illegally annexes Texas as 28 th state. Texas joins Confederacy in Civil War, Congress readmits Texas to Union in 1870

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1 APPENDIX G Moments in Time - Grand Prairie, TX When the Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Black Prairie region in which Grand Prairie is located extended from Waco northeast to the Red River. Buffalo, bear, wild turkeys, tall native grass, mesquite, post oaks, cottonwood, pecan and walnut trees grew on the plains. Guerrero Battalion, 1836 Ranchers were the first to settle in Grand Prairie. David and Alexander Jordan came from Tennessee, bringing the first black slaves to the City. David Jordan built the Jordan-Bowles home (705 NE 28 th Street) in Pres. Polk illegally annexes Texas as 28 th state In 1846 the Goodwin Cabin was built in the Watson Community of northwest Grand Prairie near the site of Watson Cemetery where Mrs. Goodwin was buried in 1846, the first white woman to be buried west of the Trinity River. Gov. H.R. Runnels (1850) granted 240 acres (later to become City of Grand Prairie) to William and Walter Caruth. Alexander Cockrell built the first bridge across the Trinity River in The Lloyd Homestead was built in 1859 (3401 Ragland Road) by cattle broker and farmer Marion Loyd. Matamoras Battalion, 1836 Sidney Sherman s Company, 1836 Texas joins Confederacy in Civil War, , A.H. Dechman, looking for a home for his young family before he enlisted as a private in Company E, 19 th Regiment of the Texas Calvary, traded a broken wagon, ox team, and $200 Confederate money for the Caruth s 240 acres of prairie land and 100 acres of timber along the Trinity River. After the war, he platted the land in 1874 as the Town of Dechman, giving lots to the Texas and Pacific RR in 1876, in return for the maintenance of a Depot to serve the town. A.J. Hamilton was appointed provisional governor of Texas in 1865 following end of war. Texas again under military rule from during Congressional Reconstruction Plan, followed by public elections in David and Alex Jordan free their nine slaves, dividing 50 acres between them. 1867, School District #28 formed between Mountain Creek and Walnut Creek. The Valley Church was the first school and church, located ½ mile east of the Bowles Ranch home near the Trinity River. Congress readmits Texas to Union in 1870 City of Grand Prairie Comprehensive Plan 1

2 1870, Samuel Mugg established first store within City limits, succeeded by Dr. William Haskett in A U.S. Post Office was added in 1874; W. M. Haskett, Postmaster. Texas A & M opens - tuition is $10/semester Toluca Battalion, 1836 Railroad between Dallas and Fort Worth completed in Forty two families lived in or near Grand Prairie. In 1882, barbed-wire fencing is introduced. Grand Prairie (the name was changed from Dechman by the Railroad in 1875) was an unincorporated village. Its Justice Court met the second Saturday of each month. Dallas County used convict labor to improve the Dallas-Fort Worth Pike (US 80) in 1896, taking excess rock from Chalk Hill to form a firm roadbed in the valley west of the hill. Doctor J.E. Payne & John Stubbs installed first telephone service in Grand Prairie to share medical information between the office in Grand Prairie and one in Webb (near Mansfield). The North Texas Traction Company (interurban) began hourly service to Grand Prairie in 1902 with stops in Arlington and Handley. The fare to Dallas was 30 cents. Service was terminated in Election of 1844 campaign flag, 1844 Rural free mail delivery began in July 1902 from the Grand Prairie Post Office. The Dallas-Fort Worth Pike (U.S. 80) was graveled in Dr. Copeland was the first citizen to own an automobile, a 1910 Hupmobile. Grand Prairie incorporates in 1909, an area of three square blocks. Twenty-eight stars, 1845 The fiery death of twin boys and destruction of their home led to organization of the Grand Prairie Bucket Brigade in A major fire in 1909 destroyed the Texas and Pacific Depot and three other businesses, damaging three more. In 1914, six buildings of the Chase Furniture Co. burned. The Grand Prairie Volunteer Fire Department was organized in Equipment included a fire truck mounted on a Model T Ford chassis with solid tires, 1000 feet of single jacket 2 ½ hose, one ax, and one crowbar. Jesse Small was the first Fire Chief. It was 1915 when 25-cycle electricity came to Grand Prairie. World War I Dalworth Park platted, The City That Was Started Right. 1 st Texas Infantry, 1861 An American La-France Hose & Chemical Truck with two 30- gallon soda and acid tanks mounted on a Model T Ford chassis, 1000 feet of new 2 ½ single jacket hose, a 24-fot extension ladder, a 12-foot roof ladder, several kerosene lanterns, axes and picks upgraded the fire department in J. C. Swadley, Sr. replaced Chief Small. schools) in City of Grand Prairie Comprehensive Plan 2

3 The average teacher s salary was around $71.50/month Census population was 1,263. Fire destroyed Lone Star Garage, with 22 cars and the fire truck in 1920; and the town s largest store and warehouse in US 80 was constructed in By 1924, the fire department had two new up-to-date trucks! Great Depression 4 th Texas Infantry, th Texas Infantry, th Texas Infantry, 1861 About 500 workers from Grand Prairie were involved in working on Public Work Administration projects. Dallas purchased 300 acres ($250/acre) east of Grand Prairie to build Hensley Field ($75,000 for land and improvements plus $16,000 from the Dallas Chamber of Commerce for hangars and improvements) as an air base for the U.S. Army Air Corps in The 366 th Air Reserve Squadron moved their headquarters from Love Field to Hensley. July 1929, the Curtis Flying Service Corporation of New York purchased 275 acres one mile west of Grand Prairie for a flying school for advanced fliers. By 1930 it was the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport, supervised by R.C. Kirk. It was purchased in 1940 by Lou Foote who trained 116 students that year brought the Mountain Creek Lake Project. Dallas paid $40/acre to build the 2,710-acre lake to cool Dallas Power and Light Co. generators. It drains an area of 295 square miles Census population was 1,529 inhabitants. In 1934 Dallas County constructed, improved, and realigned Jefferson Ave. from Oak Cliff to the Tarrant County line Census population was 1,595 inhabitants. Hensley Fie ld was designated as a Naval Air Training Base, receiving $1 million for additional construction. World War II 20 th Texas Infantry, st Texas Infantry, 1862 Establishment of the $4 million, 1,024,000 million square foot North American Aviation aircraft factory east of Grand Prairie in forced City officials to provide housing on a large scale. The Grand Prairie Housing Authority was formed and applied to the U.S. Housing Authority for a $3 million appropriation under the Defense Emergency Program to build more than 1000 new homes. Avion Village, a 75-acre, $750,000 project brought onsite prefabrication of 300 quality homes for low income workers. During the war, the factory employed up to 38,000 workers and constructed 18,500 planes including the AT-6 trainer, B-24 Liberator bomber and the C-82 Mustang. The factory closed in August 14, 1945, laying off 15,000 employees. It was reopened in April 1948 by the Chance Vought Division with 1,500 employees. City of Grand Prairie Comprehensive Plan 3

4 Without warning, Dallas annexed the former aircraft plant, Hensley Field and Mountain Creek Lake in Grand Prairie continued to provide services costing more than $171,000 annually without receiving industrial tax revenues, beginning a contentious relationship between the two cities. 5 th Texas Infantry, th Texas Calvary, c th & 18 th Texas Cavalry, 1863 Grand Prairie adopted a new home-rule city charter with a Council- City Manager form of government in 1948 and appointed its first Planning and Zoning Commission in An interim Comprehensive Plan outline was adopted and a comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and map were implemented in The 1950 Census population documented 14,594 inhabitants with a median income of $3,358. A major Street Plan was adopted in 1953 with the Trinity Parkway envisioned as a toll road. In 1954 the City of Grand Prairie published its first comprehensive plan. The City limits incorporated 5.35 square miles with an additional 94.5 square miles in process of annexation for future development. The $58 million Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike (IH-30) was constructed in When bonds were paid off in 1977 (17 years early) toll booths were removed The Great Southwest Industrial District was formed, an acre master-planned business park shared by Grand Prairie and Arlington. The park gave Grand Prairie a strong industrial base, offering almost 41 million square feet of warehouse space in 1998, the largest such park in north central Texas Conceptual plans for an outer loop along Dallas County s western edge were proposed and approved by Dallas County voters in 1969 (as Loop 9) running north-south (future alignment of SH 161). Challenges by home owners in north Grand Prairie prevented construction for almost 50 years. 3 rd Texas Infantry, Grand Prairie s first of four Urban Renewal Grant resulted in $2 million of new housing, a 17-acre park and recreation building, $200,000 addition to a school and 10 miles of paved streets, drainage, water and sewer for South Dalworth Jack Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson campaigned on Grand Prairie s Main Street as the population topped 30,386 people. Civil Rights Act becomes law in st Texas Infantry, SH 303 was constructed from Arlington to Mountain Creek Lake. It was later extended across the lake to the City of Dallas as a toll road. City of Grand Prairie Comprehensive Plan 4

5 By the 1970 census, Grand Prairie had grown to 50,904 and in 1973 SH 360 was constructed from IH-20 to SH th and 15 th Texas, th Texas Cavalry, th U.S. Infantry, IH-20 was completed through Grand Prairie connecting to I The 8-lane road, 400-foot right-of-way freeway had 4-level stacks (intersections) every few miles and led to new development on the south side of Dallas and Fort Worth s - As the City grew to a population of 71,462, Joe Pool Lake s 7,470 acres were impounded in 1986 after extensive environmental studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Designed for flood control, water supply and conservation, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation the Lake has become a year-round destination for water activities. Grand Prairie s first high-rise office tower was built in 1982, housing the Republic National Bank of Grand Prairie (now the Bank America building) adjacent to the SH-161 right-of-way south of Jefferson Ave). Into the 1990s, Grand Prairie s 99,616 residents opened the 311- acre Lone Star Race Track in Grand Prairie as a Class 1 horse racetrack in Voters had authorized a ½ cent sales tax in 1991 to construct the facility which quickly became an economic success, contributing millions of dollars to capital improvements in the City of Grand Prairie, and hosting the international Breeders Cup in October The 2000 Census showed Grand Prairie had grown to 127,427 persons. Texas Next Stage (now named Nokia Theatre) was constructed as a 6000-seat multi-venue entertainment complex in It was soon rated among the nation s top entertainment sites. As Grand Prairie enters the 21 st Century, it anticipates a build-out population of 267,000 people and is experiencing high growth rates south of IH-20 in the vicinity of Joe Pool Lake. Cavalry Guidon, c.1870 Unidentified Texas unit, c City of Grand Prairie Comprehensive Plan 5

6 1 st Texas Calvary, th Infantry, rd Infantry, th Division, 1943 USS Texas, 1944 References: Flags from State Preservation Board, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Impact Photography/R. Cross, Dallas Historical Society, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Texas Division, Texas Confederate Museum Collection, Texas Military Forces Museum, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Battleship Texas Foundation and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. (Fort worth Star-Telegram, June 29, 2004) Vail, Martin; the History of Grand Prairie, 1954 Sternberg, Rosalie K. Grand Prairie - From Plains to Planes, 11/30/1983 Grand Prairie, 1954 Comprehensive Plan Grand Prairie, 1966 Comprehensive Plan The Handbook of Texas Online City of Grand Prairie Comprehensive Plan 6

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