The Katy Trail is still overcrowded with unoriginal muscle people, triathletes going shirtless and $1,000 dogs despite threats, pleas, warnings and even the social-distancing police — literally the police telling everyone to spread out.
The City of Dallas devised an alphabetical plan in the latest attempt to keep the Katy Trail sparse.
Here in East Dallas, White Rock Lake is still crowded, but more people than usual are using some of the trails we suggested recently. Y’all know what’s up.
If you’re a fully clothed and self-assured couch-sitter who adopts pets from rescue groups, then you don’t need the Katy Trail! There are so many other places to get outdoors in Dallas.
Cemeteries, for example.
Some people will think it’s weird to hang out in a cemetery, and this suggestion is not for them.
If you’re still with us, East Dallas has fascinating cemeteries that are worth your attention.
Warren Ferris Cemetery
The Warren Ferris Cemetery at the corner of St. Francis Avenue and San Leandro Drive was established in 1847 on the homestead of Warren Ferris, who surveyed the land that eventually became Dallas County. Numerous members of the Ferris family and the neighboring community were buried there until 1906. After that, the cemetery became decrepit with neglect. In November 2019, Friends of the Warren Ferris Cemetery rallied neighbors to clean up the historic plot. There are no tombstones — all had been stolen or vandalized — but neighbors will find a wood-chip walking path, benches and a quiet place to reflect among native plants and nature.
Cox Cemetery
The cemetery on Dalgreen Drive is where some of Dallas’ first settlers are interred. The earliest marked burial is Margaret Francis Dixon, who died in 1848 after living only two months. Other burials followed, such as farmer Abraham Hart, who helped build the first courthouse in Dallas, as well as patriarch Amon McCommas and many of his descendants. Only one person by the name of Cox is buried in the Cox Cemetery, but she isn’t the namesake. It was named after a Mr. Cox who lived nearby and cared for the property.
