Dallas County Pioneer Association
Founded 1875, Reorganized 1979
P O Box 12496 Dallas TX 75225
972-260-9334 – info@dallaspioneer.org
From the President
Howdy, It’s hard to believe that 2022 is almost over, my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving full of family, friends and especially food! Our next meeting is December 10th at 9:00 a.m meeting at the Point Center for Arts and Education in CC Young Senior Living.
Breakfast will begin serving at 9 and our speaker will begin at 10, Brian Luallen, the CEO of Fair Park, our next speaker who is going to talk about the past, present and future of Fair Park.
We are continuing our “Bring a Guest;” if you bring a new guest to our meeting, you and your guest will enjoy the meal with our complements. The cost of meals is $20. All we ask is that you call 972-260-9334 and make reservations for you and your guest by Tuesday December 6, 2022.
If you have not done so, please remember to pay your 2023 dues, please send them to DCPA, P O Box 12496, Dallas, TX 75225. $20 for an individual and $30 for a couple per year.
“May God be with us till we meet again”,
Jim Griffin,
President
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From the Vice President
Hello DCPA members!
Have you thought about what you’d like to see from the association in 2023? It’s your organization after all! Do you want more events? Possibly a tour of a historical site? Would you like DCPA to be more interactive? Maybe increase our social media presence? What would you like to see added to future quarterly meetings? How can the group grow and attract new and younger members? Would you enjoy a workshop on genealogy and researching your family tree?
Please be thinking about these things and share your thoughts with me at vp@dallaspioneer.org. Or better yet, share your thoughts with me in person at the next meeting on December 10th. We’re here to serve our members and need your feedback and input.
Call 972-260-9334 to RSVP if you’d like to have breakfast at 9:00 a.m. before the 10:00 a.m. meeting. The cost is $20.00 per person and includes a fully-catered meal and dessert by the C. C. Young hospitality team.
All the best,
Mike Judd
Vice President
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Please join us for Our Next Meeting on
December 10 at 9 am
CC Young Senior Living
4847 W Lawther Dr
(Northwest Hwy & Lawther) Dallas 75238
Call and make your reservations 972-260-9334 before the
Cutoff for meal reservation is Tuesday December 6, 2022.
OUR SPEAKER – Brian Luallen
Brian Luallen has more than 20 years of experience in destination tourism and experiential events. His career has been dedicated to developing and delivering impactful experiences for employees and guests, re-launching attractions, and growing public-private partnerships.
Brian’s work transforming concepts into reality has been featured in Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and numerous other national media outlets. He holds degrees in education and pre-law from Georgia State University and enjoys living in Dallas with his wife, Tina.
Book Auction for the next meeting!
Please arrive early for the surprise of some of the books in our archives you can take home!!!
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If you haven’t been to our website lately please take a look, there are articles about the Pioneers of Dallas County, Pictures of Dallas’ Past, Francis James Tribute, Outings and Events, stories about churches and biographies of some of the people who built and lived here in Dallas’ beginnings.
dallaspioneer.org
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Donations
The Dallas County Pioneer Association (DCPA) established in 1875 is a not for profit organization that operates on the generosity of people to take care of abandoned cemeteries and promote the history of Dallas County. It is operated by folks who have a passion for history and are volunteering their time and money.
Please consider giving to our mission by clicking the button below.
If you have changed your mailing address, e-mail or phone numbers, please let our Membership Chairperson know by sending a note to membership@dallaspioneer.org
If you haven’t already paid your dues
or you would like to make a donation
please make your payments to:
Dallas County Pioneer Association
PO Box 12496
Dallas, TX 75225
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Membership
If you have friends or neighbors who are interested in history please invite them to a meeting, so they can also join us to enjoy the speakers and learn about the history of Dallas. Remember when you bring a first time guest, you and your guest enjoy a complementary meal on us!
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Cemetery Report
by Kathy Ann Reid
Albert Carver Cemetery
In August we were contacted by Dallas Code Compliance about the Albert Carver Cemetery (southeast corner of Bruton Rd. and Masters Dr., Dallas, Texas). Complaints had been received about litter in the area and the condition of the fence. We offered to help organize the complaining neighbors to keep the litter picked up, and the board is considering funding the repair of the fence. Donations are requested. Soon there will be an article on this cemetery by Frances James posted on dallaspioneer.org.
W. W. Glover Cemetery
The cemetery was mowed in April and with no rain all summer, the plan was for volunteers to keep it mowed. August 21 – 22 we had the most rain in 24 hours since 1932 and from September 7 to September 14 the grass grew three feet! It took volunteers and professionals to get that cleaned up and the cemetery back to normal.
Members who came to the October 22 work day were Lee Baldwin, Bill Vilbig, Gwyneva Winters, Wally Daniels, M.C. Toyer, and Kathy Ann Reid. Also, Danny Hall descendant of Anna Hunnicutt Cox. Wally donated five gallons of a special tombstone cleaning chemical to the Association and gave careful instructions on its proper use. As we were in our cars about to drive away, three Glovers drove up. They were Michael Glover of Cleburne, Texas, his aunt Linda and niece, Rayanne of Washington State.
Bennett Family Gardens Texas Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony – DCPA Members of Cemetery Group who attended the ceremony on November 4, 2022, were Gwyneva Winters, Kathy Ann Reid, Marsha and Mike Leach. We realized the ceremony would be grand when we saw the Mesquite High School Band’s buses being unloaded and the Color Guard of Horn High School ROTC in their uniforms. Speakers included county and city officials. The descendants were seated during the ceremony and afterwards walked to the graves of their ancestors. Dean Barker, General Manager of Laurel Oaks Memorial Park, and his staff did the research and application for the honor of the designation for this pioneer cemetery.
McAdams Cemetery
On November 5, 2022, Marla Daniels, Gwyneva Winters, Kathy Ann Reid, Marsha and Mike Leach met to work at the tiny (0.1986 acre) vandalized cemetery. Marsha and Mike have visited several times and could tell that work had recently been done. We cut saplings from near the remaining tombstones, cut strangling vines from off the fence, and removed branches that were crushing down the fence. Many trees have fallen and remain on the fence. Several trees that once were near the fence have now grown and parts of the fence are INSIDE trees. By Ordinance No. 31292, adopted August 28, 2019, the Dallas City Council established Historic Overlay District No. 153. This is intended to protect the historical integrity of McAdams Cemetery.
Western Heights Cemetery
The Fort Worth Avenue Development Group held its First Annual Western Heights Cemetery Fundraiser on October 22, 2022, 5 – 8 p.m. to help restore this West Dallas historic jewel. Tickets included an evening of catering and coffee tasting by White Rhino Coffee, enjoying a beer from the Manhattan Project Brewery, meeting relatives of Bonnie and Clyde, visiting the gravesites of veterans from the Civil War, WWI, WWII and reportedly the first female baby born in Dallas County.
A master landscape plan for the cemetery was unveiled and commemorative brick markers were also offered for sale as part of a pathway from the Entrance Gate. There was a great turnout, even though it was a State Fair Night!
The Dallas Municipal Archives Tour
As the City of Dallas website says, “What do Bonnie and Clyde, architectural plans, maps from the turn of the century and John F. Kennedy police records have in common?” The answer is contained in a room in the basement of the City Hall building that houses more than 250,000 documents. John Slate, City Archivist, led our group on the September 15thtour. Most rare items are in the vault, where we looked into the Frances James Collection and observed a copy of the famous picture of Emily Beeman Bryan and husband, John Neely Bryan.
UPCOMING
Wreaths Across America at Oakland Cemetery, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 & 17, 2022 is in need of volunteers, please click the link above to signup. Oakland Cemetery, 3900 Oakland Circle (off Malcom X Blvd) is the final resting place of some of Dallas’ most noted citizens and veterans including civil war veterans. Please come help us celebrate and honor the veterans.
Wesley Cockrell Cemetery – Saturday, March 18, 2023 is the tentative date for cemetery maintenance.
Please consider a generous donation to the Cemetery Fund.
Please like the DCPA on Facebook, join in the conversations and share interesting posts with friends!
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Articles
What’s in a Name?
The Vickery Family (Vickery Place). The subdivision known as Vickery Place is named for Richard Alfred Vickery and family. Richard Vickery was born in England and is likely best known in Fort Worth as having been a successful land developer. Many Fort Worth locations are named for him his family. Dallas’ Vickery Place is located about four miles north of downtown. It is bounded by Greenville Ave, Belmont, Henderson, Central (75) and Goodwin. The subdivision was founded in 1911 by the Works-Coleman Land Company, a land development firm owned by R. Vickery, J.E. Coleman, Osce Goodwin, J. Houston Miller and George W. Works. Its architecture includes Craftsman bungalows, Tudor style, Mediterranean style, Colonial Revival style, Prairie School style homes and other examples of residential construction of the period. George Wesley Works was married to Lillian Vickery, daughter of Richard Alfred Vickery. G. W. Vickery also served as manager of the Dallas Street Railway company and was greatly responsible for the area being served by the streetcar system.
Judge Thomas A Work
“After leaving the ancient seat of the family in Tennessee and sojourning in Kentucky for a very few years, we left for Texas in 1869”, so said the Hon. T. A. Work, Judge of the Sixty-Eighth District Court of Dallas, as he reminisced years later. When the family came to Dallas, the Judge was 9 years old. He told of two unfortunate farming ventures before the father, Jacob A. Work, moved them to Dallas. There he rented a one room house with a shed room attached. It was near the site of the old Medical Arts Building (about where the Republic Bank is today). He paid three months’ rent in advance, a total of $15.00. With fifty cents left over, he went to find work.
Here is how the Judge remembered Dallas in those early days: “When we settled in Dallas the business district was confined to the courthouse square with unimproved lots between the stores. The only store off of the square was Cark and Bryant’s general mercantile establishment on the northwest corner of Main and Austin streets, Commerce ended at Poydras street, Main at Akard, and Elm at Ervay. The thoroughfare now known as Ervay street was a lane terminating in Miller’s Ferry road. Live Oak street, leaving Elm street at Ervay, was a road which turned south at Hawkins street.” more…
First Meeting of the Dallas County Pioneer Association
The Dallas County Pioneer Association was formed in the court house July 13th, 1875,organization of the county. more…
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DCPA
Dallas County Pioneer Association
PO Box 12496,
Dallas, TX 75225
972-260-9334
