The Freedmens town movement involved the establishment of communities by formerly enslaved African Americans in the United States, mostly organized after the Civil War and emancipation in 1865. These settlements, often called “Freedmen’s Towns” or “Freedom Colonies,” were created as areas where African Americans could live independently, build self sufficient communities, and exercise newfound independence…
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By Frances James (1922 – 2019) The Pleasant Ridge Cemetery is located high on a hill north of Barnes Bridge at the intersection with Belt Line Road in Sunnyvale. The cemetery also known as the New Hope Cemetery is a small parcel of the Peters Colony six hundred and forty acre Survey Number 696 that…
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List of street names, from “The WPA Dallas Guide And History” (1) [Note: Some of these items are at variance with more current opinions regarding the origin of the named street.] Adolph – For Adolph Frick, one of the Swiss Colony. Adair – For Dr. W. W. Adair, early physician and landowner. Akard – For…
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Skillern’s was once a familiar name of a chain of local and regional drug stores that served several generations of Texans. The chain got its start in Lewisville in nearby Denton County, Texas when its first store was opened by James Arthur Skillern. James was born May 29, 1856 in Pikesville, Tennessee to William Franklin…
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From Proud Heritage, Volume III by DCPA. This 352 page hardcover book is available online. John Vest Folsom was born in Coryell County on November 11, 1898 to Agnes Ann Traller and Samuel Christopher Folsom. Samuel, the son of Nancy Cobb and Elias Folsom, was born in Georgia in 1857. Agnes, the daughter of Sara Stevenson and…
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by Dustin Durrett Glenn Edward McDuffie is best known as the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square on August 14, 1945. This moment, captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic photograph, became a symbol of the end of World War II and was featured in Life magazine’s Victory Celebrations edition. Born in 1927, McDuffie demonstrated an…
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by Dustin Durrett Glenn Edward McDuffie is best known as the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square on August 14, 1945. This moment, captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic photograph, became a symbol of the end of World War II and was featured in Life magazine’s Victory Celebrations edition. Born in 1927, McDuffie demonstrated an…
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John Herndon Daniel (1826 – 1911) John Herndon Daniel was a pioneer farmer and stock raiser born in Garrard County, Kentucky on February 18, 1826, the second of twelve children of Edmond and Frances Herndon Daniel. The family was of Scots-Irish descent and his grandfather Edmond Daniel fought in the Revolutionary War and succumbed to…
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Charles William Bulger was born in Indiana on August 3, 1857. He became a prolific architect who practiced over the years from offices in Trinidad, Colorado, Galveston, Texas (before and after the hurricane), and Dallas, Texas. He designed structures all over the United States. Bulger is known for having designed many churches, with various accounts…
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The Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery became the sixth such facility in the state of Texas and at the time was the 118th in the United States. The other national cemeteries in Texas are San Antonio National Cemetery, Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Kerrville National Cemetery and Houston National Cemetery. It took…
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