Red Oak, Texas

Name: Red Oak, Texas
Address: Red Oak, TX

Everything Red Oak is known for

2 songs mention this city 1 artist from here

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Red Oak. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

Music in Red Oak

Songs About Red Oak

the interstate 35 waltz

garret t. capps & justin boyd

10%

I’ve Been Everywhere...In Texas

Brian Burns

"Red Oak"

Artists From Red Oak

Cherilyn Johnston

country

Rivers & Roads in Song near Red Oak

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Red Oak.

Interstate 45 8 songs Interstate 20 13 songs Trinity River 11 songs Chisholm Trail 8 songs Texas State Highway 199 8 songs Interstate 35 45 songs

Musical Heritage

The Indie Songwriter Who Grew Up in Red Oak RoadyGoat

Before she became a fixture of the North Texas indie scene, singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe was a kid in Red Oak. Born in Lufkin, she moved around the state as a child until her family settled in Red Oak, just south of Dallas, where she grew up. The pivotal moment was small and ordinary: her mother bought her a used acoustic guitar when she was around nine or ten years old. That secondhand guitar set her on a path through acoustic folk, indie pop, and even hip-hop collaborations, and her clear, aching voice would later draw national notice and a devoted following once she planted herself in nearby Denton's rich music community. It is a quietly powerful local note. The polished suburb rolling past your window is the place where one of the region's most distinctive songwriting voices first learned a few chords on a borrowed guitar. Not every Red Oak story is about cotton, railroads, or a bank robbery filmed downtown. Some of them are about a teenager and a guitar. (Source: Wikipedia.)

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History of Red Oak

When Hollywood Shot Bonnie and Clyde Right Here RoadyGoat

In 1967, the crew of Arthur Penn's landmark film Bonnie and Clyde rolled into little Red Oak, about 15 miles south of Dallas on Highway 35E, and put the town on screen. A spruced-up red-brick bank near the corner of Waller and Methodist streets stood in for the gang's bank job, the scene that fuses slapstick getaway-parking comedy with sudden gunfire. The film's most aching moment was filmed here too: the dreamy, soft-focus family reunion, shot in an old sand quarry on the edge of town, where a death-haunted Bonnie says goodbye to her people. The best Red Oak footnote is in the casting. As locals gathered to watch the production, filmmakers spotted Mabel Cavitt, a Red Oak schoolteacher in the crowd, and put her in the picture as Bonnie Parker's mother. A working teacher from a Texas farm town ended up in one of the most celebrated American films of the 1960s, simply because she showed up to watch. (Source: movie-locations.com; Handbook of Texas.)

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The Town That Used to Be Called Possum Trot RoadyGoat

The fast-growing suburb you're passing on Interstate 35 about 18 miles south of Dallas almost ended up with a much stranger name. Settlement started here in 1844, when James E. Patton and his family put down roots along a spring-fed stream in what was then frontier Peters Colony country in northern Ellis County. The little community that grew up was first known as Possum Trot, a plainspoken nod to the opossums that filled the creek bottoms and timber. When Ellis County was organized in 1849, the settlement took a steadier name from the waterway running through it: Red Oak Creek, named in turn for the red oak trees crowding its banks. So the modern city of Red Oak carries a name that points all the way back to the trees and the water, even as Possum Trot lingers in the old stories as the name nobody could quite make stick. It is a reminder that before the data centers and subdivisions, this was creek-bottom timber where the wildlife outnumbered the settlers. (Source: Handbook of Texas; City of Red Oak.)

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The Patton Family and the Church That Came Before the County RoadyGoat

If you want the family whose name runs under this whole community, it's the Pattons. Colonel James E. Patton brought his family to Red Oak Creek in the mid-1840s and, on July 25, 1847, organized the Shiloh congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, two full years before Ellis County itself existed. Twenty charter members met under the early ministry tied to frontier preacher Finis Ewing King's denomination, and the present frame Shiloh sanctuary, raised in 1872, still carries a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark plaque. Just as telling is the Shiloh Cemetery nearby, where the earliest marked grave belongs to Mary C. Patton, wife of the elder James E. Patton, who died on August 14, 1851. Around her rest the Peters Colony pioneers who founded neighboring Ovilla in 1844. The Pattons did the things founding families do, breaking the first ground, raising the first church, and being the first to be buried, so when you see Patton names on the oldest stones here, you are reading the original roll call of the settlement. (Source: Texas Historical Commission markers; Handbook of Texas.)

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Higgins, Michael Francis

1927

Michael Francis (Pinky) Higgins, baseball player, was born on May 27, 1909, in Red Oak, Texas, to Michael Francis and Mattie (Orr) Higgins. He grew up in Red Oak, where he is said to have earned his nickname when, confined to bed because of illness, he showed up for a sandlot football game wearing his clothing over pink nightclothes. He entered the University of Texas in the spring of 1927 and there played halfback on the football team of 1928. He played on the Texas baseball team during the 1928, 1929, and 1930 seasons, during which time he was all-conference third baseman. He was captain of the University of Texas team that won the Southwest Conference championship in 1930. He left the university in June of 1930 and signed with the Philadelphia Athletics for what was then a monumental bonus, $5,000. In 1938 Higgins established an American League and major league record by tallying twelve consecutive hits. In the 1940 World Series, he set three fielding records in addition to posting a .333 batting average. His lifetime average was .292. Higgins played for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Boston Red Sox, and the Detroit Tigers and set four batting and fielding records. He retired from playing in 1946 and became a manager in the Boston farm system. He became the Boston Red Sox manager in 1955 and pulled the team to fourth place in the league, thirty games above their 1954 showing, a feat that earned him manager-of-the-year honors. He managed the team for five years and later returned for two more years on the field before moving into the front office for Boston. He later joined the Houston Astros as a scout. He was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1965. He died on March 21, 1969, in Dallas, having served thirty-nine years in major league baseball as a player, manager, and scout. He was survived by his wife, Hazel, whom he had married in 1935. They had three children. Higgins was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas.

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Parsons' Cavalry C.S.A.

1861

Originally comprised of men from Ellis and surrounding counties. Organized for Civil War service at Rockett's Spring (4 mi. E. of this site), Sept. 1861, unit was trained and commanded by Col. William H Parsons, Mexican War veteran, colorful duelist, editor, merchant, and lawyer. In a confederate brigade, this unit was joined with 12th, 19th, and 21st Texas Cavalry regiments, Morgan's Battalion and Pratt's Battery, to scout and fight in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Indian Territory. It was famous for attacks on federal ironclad ships, Red River campaign, 1864.

Historical Marker →

Ovilla, TX

1844

Ovilla, on upper Red Oak Creek in northern Ellis County, is the oldest town in the county. It began in 1844 as a fortified settlement and grew as settlers arrived in the area to attend brush arbor meetings of the Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which was started by Rev. Finis E. King in 1847. The church met in a brush arbor until 1853, when a log cabin, which served as both church and schoolhouse, was built. A frame church building was finished in 1872; in 1984 about 190 members still met in the structure, which had been enlarged and remodeled. The church was instrumental in moving Trinity University to Waxahachie in 1902 and in establishing a girls' school in the nearby town of Milford. Although Ovilla was a thriving farming community by the 1850s, it remained unnamed. Mrs. M. M. Molloy, wife of Rev. D. G. Molloy, formed the name from the Spanish word villa . Ovilla continued to grow and by the early 1900s had a post office, a bank, a cotton gin, a pharmacy, a blacksmith shop, and several dry-goods stores. Its post office closed in 1906. Fires in 1918 and 1926 destroyed most of the downtown buildings, and this destruction, together with the fact that Ovilla was bypassed by railroads and major highways, led to a decline in growth. As Dallas grew, however, and people started moving from the city to the suburbs, Ovilla once again began to grow. To escape annexation by DeSoto or any other neighboring city, the town of Ovilla was incorporated in 1963. In the first census after incorporation its population was 339; by 1980 it had risen to 1,067. Its 1984 population was estimated to be nearly 1,300. In 1990 it was 2,027 and the community had extended into Dallas County. The population reached 3,405 by 2000.

Tsha Handbook → · 4.9 mi away

Red Oak, TX

1844

Red Oak is on Interstate Highway 35 twenty miles south of Dallas in northern Ellis County. In 1844 James E. Patton and his family settled on Red Oak Creek a few miles southeast of Billingsley Fort, at the site of present Ovilla. The first post office came to the area in 1847 from Mitchell's Branch, two miles from the site of future Red Oak. The settlement was originally called Possum Trot because of the abundance of possums in the area. It was renamed Red Oak after Ellis County was formed in 1849 for the creek. Before the Civil War the principal crop of the local farmers was wheat. In the 1860s an increase in cotton production occurred because more slaves came to the area from other southern states. Cotton was still produced in 1988, although farming was not central to the local economy. James E. Patton also founded the first church in the area, the Shiloh congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, on July 25, 1847. Other churches, including the Baptist and the Methodist, were founded at cemeteries. In 1884 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad reached Red Oak. The townspeople did not want the trains to disturb the tranquility of the community, so the tracks passed by a mile northwest. The line was finally finished in 1890, connecting Red Oak with Dallas and Waco. The town eventually moved out and centered along the railroad. Fires in 1909 and 1919 caused extensive damage first to the southern and later to the northern part of town. Red Oak was incorporated in 1949. The population was 350 in 1950 and 1,882 in 1980. In 1967 Red Oak was used as the site for three days of filming for the motion picture Bonnie and Clyde . A local woman, Mrs. Mabel Cavitt, made a brief appearance as Bonnie Parker's mother. In 1987 Red Oak had an estimated 2,425 residents, most of whom were commuters to Dallas or Fort Worth. In 1990 the population was 3,124. The population grew to 4,301 in 2000.

Tsha Handbook →

Fry - Butcher House

1882

Sam and Sarah Jane "Jennie" Fry purchased 150 arces here in 1882. Aided by noted local carpenter Lewis Butcher, the Frys built this farmhouse in 1883. The house is an excellent local example of the Queen Anne architectural style and features a gable roof, turned-wood porch posts, and jig-sawn brackets and porch friezes. The property eventually passed to George A. Butcher, Jennie's son from a previous marriage, and remained in the family until 1986.

Historical Marker →

Bells' Chapel Cemetery

1875

Founded 1875. Site for church cemetery was given on Dec. 27, 1875, by local landowners John and Elizabeth Gibbons. This tract and some later purchases were deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Church and cemetery were named in honor of confederate war veteran Jodie M. Bell, a church and civic leader in Rockett Community, and first person to be buried here, 1877. Red Oak Masonic Lodge No. 461, chartered in 1876, helped build 2-story chapel and meeting hall. The lodge moved to Red Oak in 1894.

Historical Marker →

Things to Do in Red Oak

historical 18.1 mi away

Dealey Plaza

On November 22 1963 President John F Kennedy rode through Dealey Plaza in an open Lincoln convertible and was shot from the sixth floor window of the Texas…

historical 18.1 mi away

The Sixth Floor Museum

Where Lee Harvey Oswald fired from. The JFK assassination site at Dealey Plaza.

quirky 18.3 mi away

Big Tex at the State Fair

A fifty-five-foot cowboy named Big Tex has welcomed visitors to the State Fair of Texas in Fair Park Dallas every fall since 1952. He booms howdy folks over a…

food 18.4 mi away

Pecan Lodge

Dallas' best BBQ. The beef rib alone is worth the drive.

spooky 21.1 mi away

Lady of White Rock Lake

Since the 1930s drivers along White Rock Lake report picking up a soaking-wet woman in a white dress. She asks for a ride home then vanishes leaving the seat…

Everything Near Red Oak

1508 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

When Hollywood Shot Bonnie and Clyde Right Here · 0.3 mi
In 1967, the crew of Arthur Penn's landmark film Bonnie and Clyde rolled into little Red Oak, about 15 miles south of Dallas on Highway 35E, and put the town on screen. A spruced-up red-brick bank near the corner of…
The Town That Used to Be Called Possum Trot · 0.3 mi
The fast-growing suburb you're passing on Interstate 35 about 18 miles south of Dallas almost ended up with a much stranger name. Settlement started here in 1844, when James E. Patton and his family put down roots along…
The Patton Family and the Church That Came Before the County · 0.3 mi
If you want the family whose name runs under this whole community, it's the Pattons. Colonel James E. Patton brought his family to Red Oak Creek in the mid-1840s and, on July 25, 1847, organized the Shiloh congregation…
The Town That Snubbed the Railroad, Then Chased It · 0.3 mi
Red Oak grew up as a blackland farm town. Before the Civil War the main crop was wheat, but by the 1860s cotton took over the deep prairie soil, and a general store opened around 1852 by Hugh Caldwell and I.P. Jeffers…
The Red Oak Boy Who Still Holds a 1938 Big-League Record · 0.3 mi
Red Oak's first taste of national fame came on a baseball diamond. Michael Franklin Higgins, nicknamed Pinky as a baby, was born here on May 27, 1909, and grew into a hard-hitting major-league third baseman. Over…
The Red Oak Cowboy Who Fell Off a Bridge for The Wild Bunch · 0.3 mi
Hollywood owes a quiet debt to Red Oak. Bill Hart, born here on July 28, 1934, became one of the great Western stuntmen of the studio era. He broke in on John Wayne's epic The Alamo in 1960 and went on to perform or…
Cotton Fields to Cloud Servers Off Ovilla Road · 0.3 mi
The blackland prairie that once grew cotton on the edge of Red Oak is now being asked to grow something invisible: the cloud. Google quietly bought roughly 165 acres near East Ovilla Road and North Central Boulevard…
Buddy Groom Field and the Lefty Who Earned It · 0.3 mi
The baseball diamond at Red Oak High School carries the name of one of the school's own, and it is well earned. Wedsel Gary Groom Jr., known to everyone as Buddy, graduated from Red Oak High in 1983, where he was an…
The Indie Songwriter Who Grew Up in Red Oak · 0.3 mi
Before she became a fixture of the North Texas indie scene, singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe was a kid in Red Oak. Born in Lufkin, she moved around the state as a child until her family settled in Red Oak, just south of…
Red Oak High's Father-Daughter Olympic Medalists · 0.7 mi
Red Oak High School can claim something almost no school anywhere can: a father and daughter who both stood on an Olympic medal stand in the same event. Michelle Carter grew up in Red Oak and graduated from Red Oak High…
Red Oak's Gold Medal Factory · 0.9 mi
There must be something in the water at Red Oak High School. This single school has produced not one, but two Olympic gold medalists, a truly incredible feat for any community. The first was Louise Ritter. In 1988, the…
The Ghost of the Super Collider · 0.9 mi
As you drive south of Red Oak, you’re passing the ghost of one of the most ambitious science projects ever attempted. This area was the site of the Superconducting Super Collider, or SSC. Beginning in the late 1980s,…

Show all 200 nearby places

The Town That Moved a Mile · 0.9 mi
The center of Red Oak isn't where the town started. James E. Patton and his family settled the original site in 1844 down on Red Oak Creek — folks called it Possum Trot before the name changed along with the county in…
Red Oak Cemetery · 1.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Red Oak Cemetery, which started life as the Kemble family burial ground. Abraham Kemble bought this land around 1860, and he and his wife Mary were laid to rest here in 1867. Decades later, in…
Higgins, Michael Francis · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Michael Francis (Pinky) Higgins, baseball player, was born on May 27, 1909, in Red Oak, Texas, to Michael Francis and Mattie (Orr) Higgins. He grew up in Red Oak, where he is said to have earned his nickname when,…
Red Oak, TX · 1.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Red Oak is on Interstate Highway 35 twenty miles south of Dallas in northern Ellis County. In 1844 James E. Patton and his family settled on Red Oak Creek a few miles southeast of Billingsley Fort, at the site of…
The Sharp Manor and Its Long Haunted Legend · 1.4 mi
On the dark land off Houston School Road, a brick manor and its barns spent decades as one of the oldest haunted attractions in Texas, the seasonal Reindeer Manor, opened in 1974 and run for some 49 seasons before the…
Fry - Butcher House · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker
Sam and Sarah Jane "Jennie" Fry purchased 150 arces here in 1882. Aided by noted local carpenter Lewis Butcher, the Frys built this farmhouse in 1883. The house is an excellent local example of the Queen Anne…
The Gift and Curse of the Blackland Soil · 2.4 mi
The reason Pecan Hill exists is a story of soil science. You're on the Blackland Prairie, famous for dark, clay-rich ground weathered out of Taylor Marl. This soil is packed with a mineral called montmorillonite, and it…
Pecan Hill, TX · 2.4 mi
Pecan Hill is a community in Texas.
Parsons' Cavalry C.S.A. · 2.4 mi · Historical Marker
Originally comprised of men from Ellis and surrounding counties. Organized for Civil War service at Rockett's Spring (4 mi. E. of this site), Sept. 1861, unit was trained and commanded by Col. William H Parsons, Mexican…
Ellis County · 2.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ellis County, Texas. It was carved out of Navarro County back on December 20th, 1849. The county was officially organized just a few months later, on August 5th, 1850. It’s named for Richard…
The Highway That Built a City · 2.9 mi
Interstate 35E runs right past Oak Leaf, and it's fair to say the highway is why anybody wanted to live out here in the first place. The Eisenhower interstate system was designed to link big cities for commerce and…
The Town That Built Itself · 2.9 mi
You're driving through a city that its own neighbors talked into existence. Northern Ellis County, west of Interstate 35E and US 77, about ten miles north of Waxahachie - this was subdivision country on big wooded lots,…
Bells' Chapel Cemetery · 2.9 mi · Historical Marker
Founded 1875. Site for church cemetery was given on Dec. 27, 1875, by local landowners John and Elizabeth Gibbons. This tract and some later purchases were deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Church and…
The City Built by Firefighters · 3.7 mi
You are in a city with one of the more unusual founding stories in Texas. Glenn Heights was not a railroad town or an oil boomtown. It exists because of a Dallas firefighter. N. L. 'Moe' Craddock joined the Dallas Fire…
Born to Beat an Annexation · 3.7 mi
Glenn Heights owes its existence to a turf fight. In the late 1960s a Dallas firefighter named N.L. "Moe" Craddock opened a thirty-acre mobile home park on this prairie south of the city. The nearby town of DeSoto was…
One City, Two Counties, Two School Districts · 3.7 mi
Glenn Heights sits astride an invisible line that predates the town: the border between Dallas County to the north and Ellis County to the south. That single boundary quietly splits the city in two. Children on the…
Glenn Heights, TX · 3.7 mi
Glenn Heights may be a relatively young city, but it has its own quiet story to tell. Drive down I-35E today and you see the result of that late 20th-century growth spurt — homes and businesses that sprang up as people…
The Interstate That Built a Suburb · 3.7 mi
The road you may be driving on right now, Interstate 35E, is more than just a highway. It's the piece of engineering that made Glenn Heights possible. Before the interstate system, this stretch of blackland sixteen…
From 257 to a Boomtown · 3.7 mi
Few Texas towns have grown as steeply from as small a start as Glenn Heights. It counted just 257 residents in 1970, the year after it incorporated. Then the numbers climbed like a staircase: 1,033 by 1980, 4,564 by…
A City in Two Counties · 3.7 mi
Here's a local quirk you might not notice at first: Glenn Heights is a city divided. As you drive through town, you might cross an invisible line that has real-world consequences. The city straddles the border of two…
A Star in the Window, a Marker by the Road · 3.7 mi
This road carries a Blue Star Memorial Highway designation, one of a string of them across Texas. The name comes from a family tradition. When someone in a household was serving in the armed forces, the family displayed…
Graves Cemetery · 3.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Graves Cemetery, a final resting place for many of Ellis County's earliest pioneers. The first marked grave here belongs to Joseph Hinkle, who was laid to rest in 1859. His son-in-law, Robert Russell…
Rockett Christian Church · 4.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Rockett Christian Church, a building that's seen over a century of Texas history. The congregation started gathering way back in 1853, but they formally organized in 1894. This beautiful…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Life Waxahachie (Waxahachie) · 4.3 mi
Life Waxahachie (Waxahachie, TX) placed on the 4A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Shaun Malone (0.583 avg).
Ovilla Cemetery · 4.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Ovilla Cemetery, established in 1886 by the Ovilla Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The earliest marked grave here is Rebecca Summers McElroy, who died in 1884. The cemetery remains a chronicle of…
The Blessing and Curse of Blackland Soil · 4.8 mi
The very ground you're driving on is Ovilla's greatest STEM story. This is the Texas Blackland Prairie, and its soil is a marvel of geology and a challenge for engineering. The soil contains a high concentration of…
Ovilla, TX · 4.8 mi
Ovilla, the oldest town in Ellis County, began in 1844 as a fortified settlement known as McNamara's to repel Indian incursions. James McNamara and his wife Joanna were the first Peters Colony settlers in the area,…
The Old Brick Church · 4.8 mi
As you pass through Ovilla, know that you're in the oldest town in Ellis County - a fortified settlement thrown up on Red Oak Creek back in 1844. And the building that made it a town was a church. Shiloh Cumberland…
Ovilla · 4.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Ovilla, one of Ellis County's oldest settlements. It started way back in 1844 as a fortified community right here on upper Red Oak Creek. Imagine that! Just a few years later, in 1847, the Shiloh…
First Baptist Church of Ovilla · 4.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ovilla, Texas, where the First Baptist Church has been a cornerstone of the community for over a century. Organized back in September of 1903, these early Baptists first gathered in a wooden…
Ovilla, TX · 4.9 mi · Tsha Handbook
Ovilla, on upper Red Oak Creek in northern Ellis County, is the oldest town in the county. It began in 1844 as a fortified settlement and grew as settlers arrived in the area to attend brush arbor meetings of the Shiloh…
Winniford House · 4.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Winniford House, a testament to Texas grit and good design. William Johnson Winniford arrived here in 1853, chasing opportunity after a stint in the California Gold Rush. He homesteaded 320…
Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church · 5.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ovilla, and right here is the site of the first organized church in Ellis County. The Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church congregation was chartered way back on July 25, 1847, two full years…
Rawlins Homestead · 5.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Rawlins Homestead, a place that served travelers on the road between Waxahachie and Dallas. Roderick A. Rawlins, a Confederate officer, started building this house in 1855. After the…
Shiloh Cemetery · 5.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Shiloh Cemetery, the final resting place for many of Ovilla's earliest settlers. Burials here began with Peters Colony pioneers who founded this town way back in 1844. Look closely, and you might…
Edgewood Cemetery · 5.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Edgewood Cemetery in Lancaster, the final resting place for some of Dallas County's earliest settlers. Look for the grave of Lizzie Richardson, a pioneer child who died way back in the summer of 1845…
First Christian Church of Lancaster · 5.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Christian Church of Lancaster. Back on July 5, 1846, Roderick Rawlins and thirteen other settlers started this Christian fellowship. For years, they met in homes and a simple…
Lavender, Margaret Hall Little · 5.7 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Dallas County, near Lancaster, where Margaret Hall Little Lavender arrived in 1845. She and her husband William traveled all the way from Illinois as part of the Peters Colony's push to settle…
Lancaster, TX (Dallas County) · 5.7 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving south of Dallas, and right here in Lancaster, you're passing through a town that played a small but significant role in the Civil War. In 1861, a volunteer company from Lancaster was raised and joined the…
Lancaster Education · 5.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Lancaster, a town with a rich educational history! Back in 1846, the very first log schoolhouse was built just a mile north of here. As the community grew, so did its schools. By 1868, African…
DeSoto High School (Von Miller) · 5.8 mi
DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas (600 Eagle Drive) is where Von Miller was district defensive MVP before becoming a pass-rushing legend. He won the Butkus Award at Texas A&M as the nation's top linebacker, then was…
UIL 6A Football State Champions — 4 titles · 5.8 mi
Desoto High School (DeSoto, TX): Most recent: 55-27 over Sheldon King · 2025 6A Division 2 final.
The Football Factory and Its Super Bowl MVP · 5.8 mi
DeSoto is a town that produces football players the way other places produce wheat. The headliner is Von Miller, who grew up here and starred as a two-sport athlete at DeSoto High School, leading the Eagles to a…
DeSoto - 2025 Texas 6A Division II state football champion · 5.8 mi · Sports News
You're near DeSoto High School in DeSoto. Last December, they took down Sheldon C.E. King fifty-five to twenty-seven to win the Texas 6A Division II state football championship. They wear that crown until this December,…
Confederate Arms Factory · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker
As you drive through Lancaster, look for the site of the Confederate Arms Factory. In 1862, Joseph Sherrard, William Killem, Pleasant Taylor, and John Crockett established this factory. Their mission? To manufacture…
Strain, W. A., Home · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising past the former home of W.A. Strain, built in the late 1890s. Strain's pioneer family had already owned this land since 1846. Noted Dallas architect James E. Flanders designed this frame Victorian house,…
First United Methodist Church of Lancaster · 5.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the First United Methodist Church of Lancaster, a North Texas institution tracing its roots back to 1868. Organized by Reverend Andrew Davis, services first gathered in the Masonic Hall. Imagine, if…
The Night an F4 Tore the Heart Out of Downtown · 5.9 mi
On the night of April 25, 1994, a violent F4 tornado dropped onto Lancaster and chewed a path roughly six miles long and as much as 800 yards wide straight through the city. It came after dark, around 9:30 in the…
The Last Marine of The Pacific Lived Right Here · 5.9 mi
For decades a genuine World War II legend lived quietly in Lancaster. Romus Valton Burgin, known as R.V., was a Marine mortarman in K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, who fought through some of the Pacific's worst,…
Dallas County's Last Intact Old Town Square · 5.9 mi
The Historic Town Square at the center of Lancaster is the whole reason this town is worth a stop. Centered near 100 Main Street, it's a true old-fashioned courthouse-style square, a ring of brick storefronts facing a…
DeSoto, TX · 5.9 mi
In the early days, DeSoto was a small settlement that faced a population decline, with only 97 people recorded in 1930. However, after World War II, the area began to grow rapidly. The town's incorporation in 1949 was a…
Rebuilding 1898 Brick by Brick After the Storm · 5.9 mi
Restoring a wrecked 19th-century square isn't just sentiment, it's an engineering problem. After the 1994 tornado leveled most of Lancaster's town square, the city committed to bringing the historic brick storefronts…
The Lancaster Gun Factory That Sold Out the Back Door · 5.9 mi
During the Civil War, this quiet farm town briefly became one of Texas's most talked-about weapons makers, and one of its most notorious. Tucker, Sherrard and Company set up a pistol factory in Lancaster to manufacture…
The Kentucky Judge Who Named a Town After Home · 5.9 mi
You're rolling into one of the oldest towns in Dallas County, and it carries a Kentucky name on purpose. In 1847 a man named Abram Bledsoe bought half of the Roderick Rawlins survey out here on the prairie, and about…
The Tap Line That Saved a Cotton Town · 5.9 mi
When the main railroads bypassed Lancaster, the town refused to be cut off from the cotton economy that was its lifeblood. In 1888 a depot opened on the Dallas and Waco Railway, which folded into the Missouri, Kansas…
From Lancaster High to Back-to-Back Duke Titles · 5.9 mi
One of the players on arguably the most famous college basketball team ever assembled came straight out of Lancaster High. Thomas Hill starred here on the hardwood before committing to Duke in 1989, walking into a…
The Evening the Sky Came Apart · 5.9 mi
On the evening of April 25, 1994, the worst tornado in this corner of Dallas County tore across the prairie just south of Dallas. The monster that did the killing was rated F4, the second-strongest category, and it cut…
Head House · 5.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Lancaster, and right here, you're passing the former site of the Head House. Lucy Frances Jeffries, a Virginia transplant, discovered her true talent wasn't just raising four kids, but cooking!…
The Lancaster Receiver Who Made the NFL · 5.9 mi
Lancaster High has sent a steady stream of athletes out into the wider sports world, and one who reached the very top was Demarcus Ayers. Born in Lancaster in 1994, Ayers grew into a standout wide receiver and return…
A Library Named for the Town's Veterans · 5.9 mi
When Lancaster built out its modern Community Park on the south side of town, it didn't give the new library a generic name, it dedicated the building to the people who served. The Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library is…
Lancaster · 5.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Lancaster, a town with roots going back to 1844. It was officially established around 1852 by A. Bledsoe and his son-in-law, Roderick Rawlins, who patterned it after Bledsoe's grandfather's…
The DeSoto Eagles Football Factory · 6.0 mi
You can't talk about modern DeSoto without talking about football. The DeSoto High School Eagles are more than just a team; they are a community institution and a nationally recognized brand. The program is legendary…
The All-America City · 6.0 mi
In 2006, DeSoto earned a title that speaks volumes about its character: 'All-America City.' This prestigious award from the National Civic League isn't about size or wealth; it's about a community's ability to work…
DeSoto, TX · 6.0 mi
On February 17, 1949, a pivotal moment in DeSoto's history occurred when a petition signed by 42 eligible voters was presented to the Dallas County judge, requesting an election for incorporation. The vote took place on…
Rutherford's Crossing Bridge · 6.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Rutherford's Crossing Bridge, built back in 1919 by the Texas Bridge Company for just over 500 bucks. Before this Warren Pony truss bridge went up, locals had to ford Red Oak Creek. That crossing was…
First Baptist Church of Lancaster · 6.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the First Baptist Church of Lancaster, but its story starts way back in the 1840s, with Baptists meeting in private homes. Then, on September 29th, 1867, fourteen people officially organized the…
First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster · 6.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the First Presbyterian Church of Lancaster. It all started in 1856, when Reverend Michael Dickson and just nine members gathered in a small workshop to get this church off the ground. For…
Rocky Crest School · 6.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Rocky Crest School, a vital part of African American education in Lancaster. In 1868, this school opened its doors in a former Confederate pistol factory, serving 73 students. Imagine…
St. Paul Freewill Baptist Church · 6.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of St. Paul Freewill Baptist Church in Lancaster. This congregation was organized in 1870, born from the community of freed Black Texans after the Civil War. Land was acquired in the late…
Smith Cemetery · 6.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Smith Cemetery, established back in 1852. It started as a burial place for pioneers on a lonely knoll, but today it overlooks nine urban areas. Nancy Owen Smith founded this spot for her family and…
Pleasant Run · 6.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Pleasant Run, a town that nearly was! Madison Miller arrived here in 1846, a Texas Ranger who’d served with Bigfoot Wallace. He settled down, married, and opened a store in his home,…
Desoto, TX · 6.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Desoto, a community that started life as "the Store." It all began in the 1840s when families like the Parks, Cheshier, Ramsey, and Johnson settled here. In 1848, T.J. Johnson built the first…
Grady School, Site of · 6.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the old Grady School, just outside Palmer. It started in 1895, built to educate the children of the pioneer Farrar family. The first building sat on a hill overlooking Red Oak Creek. By…
The Sound of a Train That Wasn't · 6.9 mi
On April 25, 1994, the sound of a freight train filled the air, but there was no train. It was the sound of an F4 tornado, half a mile wide, bearing down on Lancaster. The storm ripped through the heart of the city,…
Anatomy of a Tornado · 6.9 mi
The tornado that struck Lancaster in 1994 wasn't just a storm; it was a catastrophic weather engine, powered by a specific set of atmospheric conditions. That April day, warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico collided…
Lancaster, TX · 6.9 mi
Founded in 1852 as a frontier post, Lancaster is one of Dallas County's earliest settlements. The town was surveyed and staked off by 'A' Bledsoe, who modeled it after his Kentucky hometown. During the Civil War,…
The Electric Express to Dallas · 6.9 mi
Before interstate highways, a different kind of speed connected Lancaster to the outside world. From 1912 to 1948, the Texas Electric Railway ran right through town. This was the Interurban, a fast, clean, electric…
Texas HS Baseball Leaders 2026: Lancaster (Lancaster) · 7.4 mi
Lancaster (Lancaster, TX) placed on the 6A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Jason Gardner (0.449 avg).
The Farmhouse That Outlived the Farm · 7.4 mi
Tucked into a modern subdivision at 1325 Greenbrook Drive sits the Historic Nance Farm, the oldest thing in DeSoto by a wide margin. In 1851 Otway Bird Nance brought his wife and ten children down from Illinois and…
How a Windmill Pulled Water Out of the Prairie · 7.4 mi
Among the outbuildings at the old Nance Farm stood a windmill, and that machine is the reason a homestead could survive out here at all. The Blackland prairie had no creek running through every farmyard, so settlers…
Nance Farm · 7.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Nance Farm, a place that's been in the same family for a century. Otway Nance arrived here from Kentucky in 1851, settling on land acquired through Peters Colony. He started building this…
Duff, Virginia Elizabeth · 7.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ellis County, and right here is the story of Virginia Elizabeth Duff. Born in Ferris in 1920, she grew up with a family steeped in Texas politics. After graduating from Trinity University and…
Ferris, TX · 7.6 mi · Tsha Handbook
Ferris is on Interstate Highway 45, U.S. Highway 75, and Farm roads 660, 664, and 983 fifteen miles northeast of Waxahachie in northeastern Ellis County. It was named for Judge Justus W. Ferris of Waxahachie, a county…
First Bapist Church of Waxahachie · 7.7 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Waxahachie, and right here is the site of the First Baptist Church, a community cornerstone for over 150 years. It all started way back in 1861, with just twelve members meeting in the local…
First Presbyterian Church of Ferris · 8.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ferris, and you're passing the site of the First Presbyterian Church. This congregation started way back in 1858 with just 13 members. They moved to this spot in 1875, and the building you see…
The Brick Capital of Texas · 8.2 mi
As you look around Ferris, try to imagine this town with giant smokestacks belching smoke into the sky, day and night. That was the reality for decades when Ferris was called the brick capital—of Texas, and by the 1950s…
From Clay to City: The Science of a Ferris Brick · 8.2 mi
The success of Ferris wasn't just luck; it was a story of materials science. The town sits on a deposit of Taylor Marl, a clay with a near-perfect chemical composition for making strong, durable bricks. The…
Ferris, TX · 8.2 mi
Ferris, Texas, has a rich history that began in the early 1870s. The town was officially established on September 28, 1874, when a local family donated 100 acres for a town and railway station. The community was named…
Ferris, TX · 8.2 mi
The city of Ferris, Texas, was named in honor of Judge Justus Wesley Ferris of Waxahachie. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the town when a local family deeded approximately 100 acres of land to four…
Ferris, City of · 8.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ferris, a town with roots stretching back to 1851. That's when the Ephriam Andrews family and their in-laws, the McKnights, settled this area on purchased land. By 1874, the Andrews family deeded…
Nelson, John Byron, Jr. · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here is the area where golf legend Byron Nelson was born. Nelson, known as 'Lord Byron,' grew up in Fort Worth and became one of the greatest golfers of all time. In 1945,…
Dawson, Ronald Monroe [Ronnie] · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Waxahachie, Texas, the hometown of Ronnie Dawson, a rockabilly legend. Born in 1939, Dawson first hit the music scene as Ronnie Dee with his band, the D Men. They were so good they won ten…
Rogers, Emory W. · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving past Waxahachie, Texas, a town that owes its very existence to Emory W. Rogers. Back in 1849, Rogers was granted 640 acres right here to establish the county seat for Ellis County. He didn't just get the…
Still, Rae Mandette Files · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ellis County, and right here is Waxahachie, home of Rae Files Still. She wasn't just a teacher; she was a force in the Texas House of Representatives for a decade. Still is best remembered for…
Richards, Paul Rapier · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Right here in Waxahachie, you're driving past the birthplace of Paul "Sleepy" Richards, a Major League Baseball player and manager. But what's really interesting is how this town shaped his love for the game. Back in…
Forrest, Frederic Fenimore, Jr. · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Frederic Fenimore Forrest, Jr., actor, was born in Waxahachie, Texas, on December 23, 1936, and was the son of Frederic Fenimore Forrest, Sr., and Virginia (McSpadden) Forrest. The couple had one other child, a daughter…
Allen, Jules Verne · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through what was once the rugged West, and right here in Waxahachie, Texas, was born Jules Verne Allen, the original 'Singing Cowboy.' Before he hit the radio waves in the 1920s, Allen actually lived the…
Blaffer, Sarah Campbell · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, and right here, in Waxahachie, was born Sarah Campbell Blaffer, a woman who would bring world-class art to the Lone Star State. After a visit to the Louvre on her honeymoon, she began…
Carrick, Manton Marble · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Waxahachie, and right here is where Dr. Manton Marble Carrick spent his formative years. He went on to become a pioneer in public health, serving as superintendent of the Texas State Leper Colony…
Twelfth Texas Cavalry · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through the territory where the Twelfth Texas Cavalry was born. Organized in September of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1861</say-as> near…
Erwin, Frank Craig, Jr. · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Frank Craig Erwin, Jr., chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, was born in Waxahachie, Texas, on January 24, 1920, one of two sons of Frank Craig and Margaret (Edwards) Erwin, Sr. He enrolled at…
Bradshaw, Amzi · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ellis County, heading towards Waxahachie, where Amzi Bradshaw made his home. A lawyer and legislator, Bradshaw answered the call to arms in 1861, enlisting as a private in the Nineteenth Texas…
Central Texas and Northwestern Railway · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ellis County, near Waxahachie. Back in the 1870s, the folks here were a bit stubborn. When the Houston and Texas Central Railroad wanted to build through, Waxahachie refused to offer any money,…
Dawson, Joseph Martin · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, near where Joseph Martin Dawson was born back in 1879. He was a Baptist pastor, but he was also a fierce social activist. In 1914, after reading the works of Walter Rauschenbusch,…
Ferris, Justus Wesley · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Waxahachie, the town named for Justus Wesley Ferris. He arrived in Texas in 1847, drawn here after his law mentor died unexpectedly. Ferris became a prominent lawyer and judge, even authoring…
Gibson, Charles Reese · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Waxahachie, a town that owes a lot to Charles Reese Gibson. After serving in the Confederate Army and practicing law, Gibson arrived here in 1867. He didn't just settle down; he built up the…
Rainey, Anson · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, passing through communities like Waxahachie and Dallas, places that were shaped by figures like Anson Rainey. He started his Texas journey in Crockett in 1867, then moved to…
Southwestern Assemblies of God University · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Waxahachie, home to Southwestern Assemblies of God University. But this school has a history that stretches across state lines and multiple mergers. It began in 1927 as Southwestern Bible School…
Kemble, Josiah Wright · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ellis County, near Waxahachie. Right here, Josiah Wright Kemble, a prosperous farmer and merchant, made a big decision around 1861. Fearing the Civil War's violence back in Kentucky, he packed up…
Waxahachie, TX · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
Waxahachie, the county seat of Ellis County, is on Interstate Highway 35E and U.S. Highway 287, thirty miles south of Dallas in the central part of the county. The name comes from an Indian word meaning "cow" or…
Ellis County · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Ellis County, a place established in December of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1849</say-as>. It was drawn from Navarro County and likely named for Richard Ellis, a key figure in the…
McKnight, Samuel Ewell · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Central Texas, and right here in Waxahachie, Samuel Ewell McKnight got his start. Born in 1864, he worked the family ranch before heading out on his own around 1891 to lease land near Brady. He…
McPherson, Chalmers · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through North Texas, and right here, in Waxahachie, Chalmers McPherson arrived in 1879. He was a minister with a vision, serving the Christian church for twenty years. But his real passion? Education.…
Singleton, Albert Olin · 8.3 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Waxahachie, the birthplace of Dr. Albert Olin Singleton. Born in 1882, Singleton went on to become a pioneering professor of surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He…
Sardis School · 8.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Sardis School, a community hub for decades. Kids here first learned their lessons in the local Methodist church back in the early 1870s. By 1897, a dedicated schoolhouse went up…
Sardis United Methodist Church · 8.4 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Sardis, Texas, where Methodism has deep roots stretching back to 1845. That's when a traveling preacher named Thomas Welch first rode through this area, spreading the word. The formal congregation…
H.P. and Mollie McCartney House · 8.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising through Waxahachie, and you might just pass a fairytale house! This French Eclectic home was built in 1939 for H.P. and Mollie McCartney. Noted Dallas architect Charles S. Dilbeck designed it, giving it…
Lowrey - Hurst Homestead · 8.5 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of the Lowrey-Hurst homestead, a farm that stayed in the same family for over a hundred years. James Barker Lowrey bought this land back in 1881. His son Nicholas took over farming and…
First United Methodist Church of Ferris · 8.6 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Ferris, a town that sprung up around the Houston & Texas Central Railway back in 1874. Right here is the site of the First United Methodist Church. Circuit-riding ministers first served this…
Desertron: The Biggest Machine That Texas Almost Built · 8.8 mi
Beneath the farmland near Waxahachie runs the ghost of what would have been the most powerful scientific instrument on Earth. In 1988 the federal government chose Ellis County for the Superconducting Super Collider,…
Lord Byron: The Golfer Born on an Ellis County Farm · 8.8 mi
One of the greatest golfers who ever lived was born on a farm near here. Byron Nelson came into the world on February 4, 1912, just outside Waxahachie in Ellis County, before his family moved toward Fort Worth where he…
The Octagon in the Park Where Will Rogers Played · 8.8 mi
In the shade of Getzendaner Memorial Park stands a great wooden octagon that once drew crowds of thousands for ideas, music, and oratory. This is the Chautauqua Auditorium, built in 1902 by the Waxahachie Chautauqua…
The Gingerbread City That Hollywood Kept Filming · 8.8 mi
These tree-shaded streets full of ornate Victorian houses are why Waxahachie calls itself the Gingerbread City, named for the lacy gingerbread woodwork dripping off the porches and gables that cotton money paid for. The…
Shedeur Sanders at Trinity Christian School · 8.8 mi · Sports Alumni
At Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Shedeur Sanders threw to a soundtrack of his father's voice. Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders ran the offense as coordinator from 2017 through 2019, and together they…
Buffalo Creek and the County Seat Emory Rogers Gave Away · 8.8 mi
The town you're entering took its name straight off the water. Waxahachie comes from a Native American name for the creek running along the south edge of the new settlement, usually translated as buffalo creek or cow…
Sardis Cemetery · 8.8 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Sardis Cemetery, where the earliest marked grave belongs to Susan Jane Rachael Kelly, who died in childbirth back in 1871. Early settler Robert Mayfield donated land for this burial ground, which…
Williams - Erwin House · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Williams-Erwin House in Waxahachie, a beautiful example of Victorian architecture. Built in 1893 for cotton merchant Edward Williams, this home showcases the wealth generated by the booming…
Trippet-Shive House · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're cruising past the Trippet-Shive House in Waxahachie, a beautiful example of late 19th-century architecture. Banker H.W. Trippet finished this home in 1896, right around the turn of the century. Later, Walter…
First United Methodist Church of Waxahachie · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Waxahachie, and right here is where a faith community planted its roots way back in 1849. Nine charter members, led by Reverend Falacius Reynolds, met in a settler's cabin to start a Methodist…
Ellis County Farm Cemetery · 8.9 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Ellis County Farm Cemetery, also known as the Pauper Cemetery. This burial ground was part of a county farm established in the 1890s to support the needy. Between 1890 and 1946, it served as the…
The Inland Port: An Engineering Marvel · 9.0 mi
As you drive along I-45, you're passing one of the most important pieces of modern infrastructure in Texas: the Union Pacific Dallas Intermodal Terminal, a hundred-million-dollar, 360-acre yard that opened in September…
Kicked Out for Boogie-Woogie · 9.0 mi
In nineteen fifty, a fifteen-year-old Pentecostal kid from Ferriday, Louisiana, enrolled at the Southwestern Bible Institute here in Waxahachie. The Assemblies of God school had moved onto the old Trinity University…
The Escape That Cost Him His Appeal · 9.0 mi
In July of nineteen oh five, a man named J. H. Taylor was assaulted and robbed near Waxahachie, and he died the next morning. A Black man named Albert Johnson was arrested, and because of threats of a lynching, officers…
The Garage Man Murder · 9.0 mi
On the night of the twenty seventh of February, nineteen fifteen, a young garage man named Jack Jones was beaten to death in Waxahachie. A man named Joe Larkins was arrested, tried within weeks and hanged that April,…
Sixty-Five Straight · 9.0 mi
In the middle of the nineteen twenties, Waxahachie High School played baseball like almost nobody in the country. Starting in Paul Richards's freshman year, the Indians won sixty five games in a row, a streak the…
The Hanging Ground Below the Compress · 9.0 mi
In March of nineteen oh four, the Waxahachie Daily Light explained where Brozier Smith would be hanged: down on the creek, a short distance below the cotton compress, near where another Black man, George Young, had been…
The Marshal Who Came to Help · 9.0 mi
On a Sunday evening, the seventeenth of December, eighteen eighty two, a Waxahachie deputy marshal tried to arrest a man named Charles Smith, and Smith ran, and the two traded shots. City Marshal John Spalding rode in…
The Hidden Thirty-Two · 9.0 mi
In January of nineteen forty four, a convict named J. B. Stephens escaped from the Retrieve prison farm, where he was serving time for robbery, and talked a Dallas man into driving him to Waxahachie by claiming he was…
Bonnie Parker's Husband Breaks Out · 9.0 mi
Bonnie Parker had a husband, and it wasn't Clyde Barrow. In nineteen twenty six she married her longtime sweetheart, Roy Thornton, and even after the marriage went bad, she refused to divorce him. Thornton got into…
The Boy Whose Father Went to Bonnie and Clyde's Funerals · 9.0 mi
Robert Benton was born in Dallas and raised in Waxahachie, and he said he owed his love of movies to his father, a telephone company man who took the family to the picture show. His father had another thing he liked to…
The Day the Powder Mill Blew · 9.0 mi
Waxahachie never saw a Civil War battle, but it had a war industry, and it paid for it. In eighteen sixty two a man named William Rowen built a mill here to make gunpowder, which the Confederacy was desperately short…
The Fire That Ate a Fire Truck · 9.0 mi
On the third of October, twenty eleven, workers at the Magnablend plant on the north side of Waxahachie mixed a water treatment product they had made at least sixteen times before in batches of five hundred gallons or…
Backyard Neighbors · 9.0 mi
Two boys whose backyards met here in Waxahachie both ended up in the music business. Bill Ham was born in nineteen thirty seven, went to school here, and went on to North Texas. In nineteen sixty eight he saw a Houston…
The Night the Hotel Burned · 9.0 mi
Between three and four on a Sunday morning in November of nineteen eleven, the night watchman on his rounds spotted a fire in Levi Adair's tailor shop, under the north wing of the Rogers Hotel. Minutes later, gasoline…
The Electric Railway Over the Railroads · 9.0 mi
For more than thirty years you could ride an electric train from Waxahachie to Dallas. In nineteen twelve the Strickland interests bought the twenty eight mile electric line from Dallas to Waxahachie and named it the…
The University That Left for San Antonio · 9.0 mi
Trinity University spent four decades in Waxahachie. The Presbyterian college was founded in eighteen sixty nine, and its leaders talked for years about a better location before, in nineteen oh two, they moved it here,…
Born on the Kitchen Cabinet · 9.0 mi
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri was born here in Waxahachie in nineteen forty four, and he has written about exactly where. Until he was seven, his family lived in a two room shack in Waxahachie with no running…
Lamont Moore Puts On the Cape · 9.0 mi
Waxahachie's first state football championship came in nineteen ninety two, in the Class Four A final, and it came from behind. The Indians trailed A and M Consolidated late and surged back to win twenty eight to twenty…
From a Waxahachie Choir to Quincy Jones · 9.0 mi
Tevin Campbell started singing gospel in a Baptist church here in Waxahachie when he was about four years old. A friend of his mother's got him an audition with the jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey, and he sang for her over…
Three Films in Four Years · 9.0 mi
In the early nineteen eighties the playwright Horton Foote kept bringing his movies to Waxahachie. Tender Mercies was shot here and in Palmer between November and December of nineteen eighty one. It was Foote's first…
The Munsters Live in Waxahachie · 9.0 mi
Somewhere in Waxahachie is a house that looks like it belongs at thirteen thirteen Mockingbird Lane. Sandra and Charles McKee built a replica of the Munster family mansion from the nineteen sixties TV show, and Sandra…
The Taxidermist Who Counted the Last Buffalo · 9.0 mi
Waxahachie's name is often said to come from an Indian word meaning cow or buffalo, so here's a buffalo story. In eighteen eighty six, William Temple Hornaday, the Smithsonian's chief taxidermist, went to Montana to…
Marvin College, Site of · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Marvin College, founded right here in 1870 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Waxahachie residents pitched in with land, labor, and cash to build it up. This place earned acclaim…
The Fire of 1928 · 9.0 mi
Imagine the heart of Wilmer, a small downtown filled with wooden buildings, bustling with the business of a cotton community. Now imagine it all going up in smoke. That's what happened on the Fourth of July, 1929. Fire…
Designed by Booker T. Washington's Son-in-Law · 9.0 mi
Joshua Chapel A. M. E. Church on Aiken Street has a remarkable architect. The congregation was organized in eighteen seventy six and named for its first pastor, the Reverend Joshua Goins, and it met in an old…
Probably the First · 9.0 mi
Josie Briggs was born in Waxahachie in eighteen sixty nine and lost both parents as a girl. At sixteen she got her first teaching job, and in nineteen oh five she published two books: one of poems, and one with a title…
The Spillway That Could Mark a Moment in Earth History · 9.0 mi
Geologists divide Earth's history into stages, and for each one they try to pick a single rock layer somewhere in the world as the official reference point, sometimes called a golden spike. For the start of the…
The Original Singing Cowboy · 9.0 mi
Jules Verne Allen was born in Waxahachie on the first of April, eighteen eighty three, and by the age of ten he was working cattle in Jack County. He rode in the last days of the open range and sang the songs cowboys…
The Regent in the Hard Hat · 9.0 mi
Frank Erwin was born in Waxahachie on the twenty fourth of January, nineteen twenty, and he grew up to run the University of Texas Board of Regents with a very firm hand. In October of nineteen sixty nine the regents…
Hansel and Gretel's House Wasn't Gingerbread · 9.0 mi
Waxahachie calls itself the Gingerbread City, for the lacy trim on its Victorian houses. So here's a gingerbread surprise. In the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel, the witch's house isn't made of gingerbread. In their…
The First Renaissance Fair Was Built From Scrap · 9.0 mi
Just outside Waxahachie is one of the big Renaissance festivals, so here's how the whole idea began. In the early nineteen sixties, a teacher named Phyllis Patterson ran a children's theater program in Laurel Canyon, in…
An Ellis County Deputy on the Trinity · 9.0 mi
In February of nineteen seventy one, Ellis County deputy Arthur Robertson was working a burglary investigation, backed up by two Dallas County deputies, William Reese and Samuel Infante, at the home of one of the…
St. Joseph Catholic Church · 9.0 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past St. Joseph Catholic Church. The earliest Catholic settlers in Waxahachie were two brothers of English and American ancestry who arrived in 1859. A German Catholic family joined them in 1870 and a…
A Renaissance Village Outside Waxahachie · 9.0 mi
Southwest of town, out along Farm to Market Road sixty six, sits a make-believe village that pretends to be Renaissance England. The Scarborough Renaissance Festival opened its gates in nineteen eighty one, and every…
Officer Josh Williams · 9.0 mi
In the early morning hours of the twenty eighth of July, twenty twelve, Waxahachie police officer Josh Williams was answering a disturbance call at a fast food restaurant on Highway seventy seven. As he turned into the…
The May Tornado · 9.0 mi
On the night of the third of May, twenty twenty one, an EF Two tornado tore through Waxahachie and the country around it. Somewhere between twenty five and fifty homes and businesses were destroyed, and eight people…
Wilmer, TX · 9.0 mi
Unlike some Texas towns that boast of famous gunslingers, politicians, or musicians, Wilmer has a different kind of story. It's a place defined not by famous individuals, but by collective work. Its history was written…
The Crimson Limited · 9.1 mi
Imagine a time before Interstate 45, when the most modern way to travel was electric rail. Palmer sat on the Texas Electric Railway's Dallas-to-Corsicana line — sleek electric cars running down through Hutchins, Wilmer,…
Palmer, TX · 9.1 mi
In 1983, the town of Palmer gained a moment in the spotlight when parts of the film Tender Mercies were filmed here. Directed by Bruce Beresford, the movie tells the story of a country western singer. While most of the…
Dunlap - Simpson House · 9.1 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past a truly unique home in Waxahachie, built back in 1890 and 1891. This isn't just any house; it's a fantastic example of Queen Anne Revival style, featuring two hexagonal rooms and two octagonal rooms!…
Wilmer, TX · 9.1 mi · Tsha Handbook
You're driving through Wilmer, Texas, a town that started as a railroad stop called Prairie Valley. It got its current name in 1884, named after a Houston and Texas Central conductor who passed through. By 1890, it was…
Elizabeth, the Bride Who Never Left the House on Water Street · 9.2 mi
The Victorian house at 814 Water Street, built in 1895, spent decades as a family home before it opened in 1984 as the Catfish Plantation, a Cajun-and-catfish spot that became famous less for the food than for being…
Getzendaner Memorial Park · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Getzendaner Memorial Park, originally West End Park, established way back in 1889. For decades, it was the site of massive Chautauqua assemblies, drawing thousands for two weeks each summer. Imagine…
Waxahachie Chautauqua Building · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a cultural phenomenon that swept across America! Back in 1899, Waxahachie became a hub for Chautauqua assemblies, drawing huge crowds from all over. People would camp out for days,…
St. Paul's Episcopal · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past Waxahachie's oldest church, St. Paul's Episcopal. <break time="400ms"/> Dedicated way back in 1885 by pioneer Bishop A.C. Garrett, this building still stands as a testament to Gothic Revival…
Central Presbyterian Church · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of Waxahachie's Central Presbyterian Church. It started way back in 1853 as a Cumberland Presbyterian congregation, with just twelve members led by Rev. Daniel G. Molloy. They met in a…
Presiding Elder's House · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former home of a Methodist presiding elder in Waxahachie. Built in 1901, this house served as the parsonage for the district superintendent for over 40 years. Mrs. M.J. Cooke initially had the…
Site of a Confederate Powder Mill · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the site of a Confederate powder mill, erected back in 1862 by William Rowen. Just a year later, on April 29th, 1863, a massive explosion rocked this spot. The blast destroyed the mill and tragically…
Oak Lawn School · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the former site of Oak Lawn School, a beacon for Black education in Waxahachie. It started in 1887 as an elementary school, moving to this very location in 1893. By the turn of the century, high…
Mahoney - Thompson House · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Mahoney-Thompson House in Waxahachie, a solid piece of local history. Built between 1902 and 1904 by Dennis Mahoney, a contractor who first came to Texas to build Trinity University. He laid the…
Strickland - Sawyer House · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving through Waxahachie, and right here is a house with a story of Texas industry. In 1888, a widow built a home on this spot. Just one year later, it was bought by J.F. Strickland. He was a big deal—a…
The Daniel Cemetery · 9.3 mi · Historical Marker
You're driving past the Daniel Cemetery, the final resting place for some of southwest Dallas County's earliest settlers. The first person buried here, back in 1853, was Fannie P. Daniel, daughter-in-law of Rev. Ellison…
A Native-Derived Name With Uncertain Language · 9.4 mi
You're in Waxahachie, Texas, so here's the Indigenous place-name tangent behind the name: Waxahachie shares its name with the local creek and is traditionally said to come from an Indigenous word connected with cow or…
North Texas Before Modern Towns · 9.4 mi
You're in Waxahachie, Texas, so here's the Indigenous place-name tangent behind the name: North Texas was homeland, hunting country, travel corridor, and contested territory for multiple Indigenous peoples across…
Disease, Removal, and Living Nations · 9.4 mi
You're in Waxahachie, Texas, so here's the Indigenous place-name tangent behind the name: European-introduced epidemics caused catastrophic population loss before many detailed written records were made. Warfare,…
Corn Villages and Buffalo Hunts · 9.4 mi
You're in Waxahachie, Texas, so here's the Indigenous place-name tangent behind the name: many Southern Plains communities combined farming with seasonal hunting rather than choosing one lifestyle. Corn, beans, squash,…
Trade Before Highways · 9.4 mi
You're in Waxahachie, Texas, so here's the Indigenous place-name tangent behind the name: Indigenous trade networks moved salt, food, horses, hides, pottery, shell, pigments, stone, metal goods, and information across…
Bessie Coleman - Aviator · 9.4 mi · Historical Marker
Bessie Coleman was born in a one-room cabin in Atlanta, Texas in 1892 and grew up picking cotton in the fields outside Waxahachie. She walked four miles to a one-room schoolhouse for Black children, and every year the…

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Red Oak, Texas

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When Hollywood Shot Bonnie and Clyde Right Here RoadyGoat

The Town That Used to Be Called Possum Trot RoadyGoat

The Patton Family and the Church That Came Before the County RoadyGoat

Higgins, Michael Francis

Parsons' Cavalry C.S.A.

Ovilla, TX

Red Oak, TX

Fry - Butcher House

Bells' Chapel Cemetery

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