Plan to visit our upcoming photo exhibit, ‘Places People Still Talk About,’ July 12-Sept. 11 in Southlake Town Hall and the Library.
If you were a kid in Southlake after the town’s incorporation in 1956, there’s a good chance you sat in old Carroll Hill elementary school, grabbed a candy bar at Village Grocery, attended brand-new Carroll High School and bought gas at Yates Corner Grocery.
Folks still remember these and other places including mom-and-pop Casey Grocery that fronted Texas 114 at (then) Carroll Road, the town’s main street; Grapevine Auction Barn and Cafe, thought to be Texas’s first integrated cafe; the first Carroll schools and the old grass field where Carroll football began.
With the help of longtime residents, we’ve gathered photos and stories of a smaller Southlake when everyone knew everyone. We look forward to sharing that with you. Come visit the exhibit July 12-Sept. 11 and see a fun connection to Southlake’s past.
Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
C.M. Gordon family
The Southlake Historical Society is dedicated to archiving historical materials, gathering oral history interviews, presenting exhibits that showcase the events and lives of folks who came before us and working as the community advocacy group to preserve and protect Southlake’s history.
The society meets monthly at 3 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. If you would like to join us, please email southlakehistory@gmail.com.
Do you have history in Southlake?
We invite you to tell your story!
DID YOU KNOW?
Bad guys Bonnie and Clyde or a member of their gang gunned down two state troopers on Easter Sunday 1934 at Dove Road and 114. One trooper was engaged; his fiancée wore her wedding outfit to his funeral.
DID YOU KNOW?
What is thought to be the first integrated café in Texas was run by Eula Jones and Elnora Jones at their husbands' livestock sales barn from 1949 into the ‘70s. Black truckers and white ranchers and farmers sat side-by-side in the tiny cafe to eat chili, stew and red beans. The site is near White Chapel Boulevard and Texas 114.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1919, District No. 99 was given the name Carroll after B. Carroll, the county school superintendent. No. 98 had been named a year or two before for the previous superintendent, G.T. Bludworth. The Southlake Bludworth Dragons? We came close.
DID YOU KNOW?
Walnut Grove, Carroll ISD's newest elementary school, was named after the school Bob Jones, born a slave, built in about 1920 for his grandchildren because they could not attend all-white schools. It sat on what's now Bob Jones Road. A descendant of Bob Jones praised the new school as "a redemptive moment in public education."
DID YOU KNOW?
The captivating name Lonesome Dove originated nearly 150 years before Larry McMurtry wrote his book. It’s said the lonesome call of a dove reminded founders of Lonesome Dove Baptist Church of their own feelings of isolation.
DID YOU KNOW?
Suzanne Eubanks liked to pick quirky names for pets, so her dad the mayor jokingly asked her what she would name the new town. How about a “geography name,” she said, like Westvine, Easler, Northeul, Southton or Southlake. Southlake was chosen over suggestions that included Blossom Prairie.
DID YOU KNOW?
The thrilling history of Dragon football as told by Todd Dodge and Bob Ledbetter, with an assist from Dragon Council members Gene Stanford and Phil Barber, is on DVD at the Southlake Library. Included is footage of early Dragons in action.
DID YOU KNOW?
Malinda Frost Dwight (later Hill) was at Parker’s Fort in 1836 when Cynthia Ann Parker was taken by Comanches. Malinda, 16, her husband, baby daughter, mother and others escaped; her father and brother were killed. Malinda died in 1870 and is buried at Lonesome Dove Cemetery. Jack Cook, her great-great grandson, is pictured next to her tombstone.
DID YOU KNOW?
The water tower at Dove Road and White’s Chapel in Southlake, constructed in 1986, was the first of its kind built in the U.S. The style, a steel tank supported by a concrete pedestal, became the prototype for about 80 percent of the large water-storage tanks built in the U.S.
DID YOU KNOW?
Hi, I'm Bonnet, and I live at Southlake's log house. I’m on lots of the colorful signs out there, helping kids learn about pioneer life. I also chase rabbits and fetch sticks. Come see me. I'll be watchin' for you!
DID YOU KNOW?
For being the first Carroll School and the place where the city of Southlake was born, "This Place Matters." In front of the 1919 Carroll School are Connie Cooley and Anita Robeson of the SHS. "This Place Matters" spotlights places of significance to a community; see preservationnation.org