Welcome to our online museum.
Pull up a chair and come on in to explore Southlake’s rich history.
Ride with us to Lonesome Dove
“Lonesome Dove, the miniseries: Dramatic photographs by Bill Wittliff,” an exhibit with more than 50 photographs taken by screenwriter and photographer Bill Wittliff during the filming of the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove, opens Saturday, July 9, and runs through Saturday, Aug. 19, in the lobby of Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main Street. Hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and closed on Sunday.
A reception will be held 4-6 p.m., Sunday, July 23, in Town Hall and is open to the public. No RSVP required. UNT Associate Professor of History Mike Wise, an expert on the history of the American West as represented on film, will give a presentation.
The exhibit photographs — part of the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University in San Marcos — are sponsored by Humanities Texas and presented by the Southlake Historical Society.
The beloved miniseries is based on Larry McMurtry’s 1986 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of two aging Texas Rangers, Augustus McCrae (Robert Duvall) and Woodrow Call (Tommy Lee Jones), who lead a cattle drive from the Rio Grande to Montana.
“This will be our ninth summer exhibit in Town Hall,” explains SHS president Connie Cooley. “And like all our previous exhibits, there’s a Southlake connection.”
Titles were important to McMurtry. After seeing the words Lonesome Dove Baptist Church on the side of an old church bus, he was inspired to use the name.
“Lonesome Dove Baptist Church, established in now-Southlake in 1846, still occupies the property on Lonesome Dove Road north of Dove Road, and is one of Tarrant County’s oldest churches,” she says.
Email questions to southlakehistory@gmail.com
“Gus and Call on the Mesa,” © 1988, Bill Wittliff.
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. This early 1970s aerial shows Lake Grapevine at the north end of Carroll Ave. Old Dragon Stadium was under construction.
DID YOU KNOW?
What is thought to be the first integrated cafe in Texas was run by sisters Elnora and Lula Jones (seen here, left to right, in a 1950s photo with sister-in-law Annie Jones on the far right) 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 was at White's Chapel and Highway 114.
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?
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?
In 1919, District No. 99 was given the name Carroll after B. Carroll, the county school superintendent, seen here in his Fort Worth office. 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?
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 in Bicentennial Park. 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
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?
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?
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 thrilling history of Dragon football as told by Todd Dodge (seen here holding the the 2005 state championship trophy) 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.
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 to preserve and protect Southlake’s history.
The society meets at on the second Monday of each month. If you would like to join us, please email southlakehistory@gmail.com.
Awards received by the Southlake Historical Society include:
