Petunia, Betty & the mini dachshund

I've ridden the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority trollies twice and will do it again when I'm in Dallas!  They are a delight to ride and their history is even more intriguing.  Since they don't fit into my criteria for this blog, but are still very historic, I wanted to let you know I have post up on my Small Simple Things of Life blog.  Click on the link below to find out about the trollies and see more pictures.
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Looks like it is saved!

Last post I shared the plight of a Victorian home in Dallas, Texas that was about to be demolished to make room for a Time Warner Cable hub and parking lot.  I was happy to read this week that Time Warner has agreed to move the structure to another nearby location.  Congratulations to preservationists and city leaders who rallied together to convince Time Warner to stop the demolition.  The Dallas Morning News City Blog has details as well as pictures of the inside of the delightful home read here. 

I'm hoping the story continues with the relocation and successful restoration of the home.  So far, so good!

Dallas Heritage Village

My last post featured the Dallas Heritage Village and its history.   Each building on the grounds was moved there from a location either in Dallas or North Texas. The visitors guide and information plaques by each one gave me a feel for that building's (or a similar building's) contribution to the history of the area.  Since there are 21 buildings featured on the property I can only feature a few here.  But do visit their web site to read about all of them and the service that the Village provides to the Dallas community.  Just to note, the Village is closed during August so they can do upkeep and other projects.

I had posted about the Renner School on Small Simple Things of Life, so click here to read about it.
I wrote about the Millermore house on the first post.  So, that covers two of the buildings.

As soon as I walked into the Village the depot caught my eye; I'm always drawn to depots and trains.

The first train rolled into Dallas in July 1872 and a year later the Texas & Pacific arrived in town.  Dallas became the first major railroad crossing in the southwest, linked to Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago.  The population of Dallas soared and business boomed!

This depot was built in 1886 and served the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (MKT or KATY) line. Each railroad used standardized colors and most buildings followed a similar plan with a gabled roof and hipped ends. The depot is painted in the MKT's colors.  Prior to its relocation it had been cut in half and one half was being used for hay storage. All aboard!

 

 

 

The Worth Hotel was built in Carrollton in 1904.  Hotels were vital to the railroads.  Often space was limited and guests not only had to share rooms they often had to share beds!

The Sullivan house was built a few blocks away from the Village in 1885.  Mr. Sullivan was a plumbing and gas fitting contractor and the house featured an indoor bath and gas fixtures. I found it interesting that the picture of the house in its original location showed it to be painted white. Isn't this color scheme much more pleasing?

 

The Gano house was built in the dog-trot style in 1846 near Grapevine.  This practical plan of joining two rooms with a breezeway offered cross-ventilation.  The dog-trot house was very common in Texas.  In 1852 two rooms were added to the back as well as the loft above making it very roomy.  The house was covered with hand planed siding for extra insulation.

Like most parks of this time City Park had a gazebo (bandstand) similar to this one. 

The Main Street features buildings that would have been typical of Dallas in the late 1800's.  A saloon, a bank, a general store, and a law office comprise this street.  The murky day and small camera kept me from capturing the Dallas skyline just behind the trees, but it was a vivid contrast.

The Blum House, built in 1901, is currently closed.  This poor lady needs another makeover and the Village is currently soliciting funds.  The DHV is a non-profit 503(c) organization and gladly accepts donations and other forms of support.  At this time they do not plan to add any other structures unless they come with their own endowment.  Upkeep is costly!

 

 







Dallas Heritage Village

In preparing for my recent trip to Dallas I had pulled up a list of dog friendly places.  Almost the first place that jumped off the list at me was the Dallas Heritage Village.  I knew it was perfect for Bentley and me when I began exploring their website and found that this was more than a modern day attraction. It is a living history village of buildings that have been relocated from all over North Texas and assembled here so they can share what life was like 100 years ago with us today.

In 1876 James J. Eakins gave the City of Dallas 10 acres of his land in lieu of paying taxes.  This property became the city's first park and was known simply as City Park.  In 1881 the city acquired 8 more acres from the Browder family; this tract included Browder Springs which had served the city as its first public water supply source.

The Cedars, an elegant residential neighborhood comprised of the fashionable homes of business and mercantile leaders, grew up around the park during the 1880's and 1890's. There are still remnants of this neighborhood surrounding the park today.  This area's close proximity to the railroads made it the ideal place for the construction of factories; workforce housing for the factory workers also appeared in this area.  There was a zoo located here and weekly concerts were held in the bandstand. The park was truly an active part of the community. 


This home is an administrative office of the park.  There were several homes on this side street, each with identical steps leading up the small hill from the street.





I'm always intrigued by steps like these and wonder about the home that they led to once upon a time

 

After World War II residents began moving to the suburbs.  When Interstate 30 was completed The Cedars was cut off from downtown and fell into decline.  But a group of women looking for a place to relocate a plantation home that was scheduled to be wrecked offered new life to the park. Mary Aldredge and the Founders Garden Club had to store the disassembled house in a warehouse before convincing the city of Dallas to let them put it here in City Park in 1966.  When re-assembled Millermore opened in 1969 it would be the first of 21 buildings that would follow to the park. In 2005 the park was no longer referred to as Old City Park when it was re-named the Dallas Heritage Village.

Millermore was built between 1855 and 1862 by William Brown Miller on Bonnie View Road in Dallas. The house was built facing exactly north, using the North Star as a compass in construction. It was designed to catch the prevailing winds for cross ventilation.  Slave labor was one of the factors that enabled Mr. Miller to carry out his plan to build a grand house.

Stone was quarried from nearby and hauled to the house site where pieces for the foundation, chimney and hearths were cut.  Cedars on the property were cut and pulled to the site by oxen and then hewn into beams.  The construction took seven years due to Mrs. Miller's death in 1856 and the 8 weeks it took for a load of lumber milled in Jefferson, Texas to arrive in Dallas via a commercial freight wagon.

When completed the Greek Revival details evident in the house were only a symmetrical façade, a small portico with slender columns and a wide hallway flanked by square rooms.  A cistern on the back porch was designed to catch rain water which was then used by the ladies to wash their hair and clothes since it was softer than the well water! The balcony and 2-story porch were added in 1912.

In future posts I will feature a few of the other buildings.  Please visit their website, Dallas Heritage Village. And, yes, they were dog friendly.  I couldn't take Bentley inside any of the buildings, but I still appreciated the fact that I could bring him in to enjoy the grounds.