It was 1842 when John Beeman first made camp near what is now White Rock Lake, and modern recorded history of East Dallas began to take its shape. Since then, there have been thousands of notable moments, some of them forgotten in the record books, while others are commemorated on plaques dotting the neighborhood. To chart every single one would be all but impossible. Instead, this map highlights the important, odd-ball and just plain intriguing stories of our neighborhood going back to the days before East Dallas was incorporated into the city. It will keep growing as an interactive map on our website (see below), to which we will continue to add the historical happenings that brought us where we are today.

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Illustration by Brian Smith

Illustration of the Aldredge House by Brian Smith

Historical Homes

Swiss Avenue Historic District in 1950 (photo), Fitzhugh to La Vista

DeGolyer Estate and drawings of the gardens than became the Dallas Arboretum (photo), 8625 Garland Road

Home of Jefferson Peak (photo), Worth and Peak

Caruth Farm rolled on logs (photo), Belmont and Greenville

McIntosh House of glass (photo), 1518 Abrams

Mount Vernon on Halloween (photo), 4009 W. Lawther Dr.

Illustration by Brian Smith

Illustration of the old water tanks at Abrams and Goliad by Brian Smith

Developing East Dallas

Water tanks – the ‘best in North Texas,’ Abrams and Goliad, Gaston and Haskell

East Dallas’ original City Hall and School, 3202 Gaston

White Rock Pump Station, 2900 White Rock Road

Bathing beach (photo) and Bath House, Lawther Drive

Historic latrines that will never be bathrooms, Flag Pole Hill

Lakewood Country Club (photos) and the golf stars, 6430 Gaston

Casa Linda hits the map

Reinhardt Elementary taught kids east of the lake, 10122 Losa Drive

Dallas Fire Station #16 (photo), 5501 Columbia Ave.

St. Matthew’s Cathedral (photo), 5100 Ross Ave.

James Fannin Elementary School (photo), 4800 Ross Ave.

Woodrow Wilson High School and the wedding cake (photo), 100 S. Glasgow

Civilian Conservation Corps and the POWs (photo), 950 E. Lawther Drive

Lakewood Post Office (photo), 6324 Prospect Ave.

Gus Thomasson Road, one of the oldest

Casa View rises from cotton farms (photo)

Ferguson opens with a bang, Ferguson, between Buckner and Samuell

Junius Heights and the fight for the columns (photo), Abrams Parkway at Glasgow

Lindbergh Drive disappeared in two days, Skillman Street

Illustration of the Continental Gin Company by Brian Smith

Big Business

Dallas Ice Factory, Light and Power Company and the ice wars, Swiss and Hall

Hockaday School for Girls’ East Dallas origin (photo), 1206 Haskell Ave.

Mariano’s Mexican Cuisine and the birth of the frozen margarita machine, Greenville at Lovers

Continental Gin Company Showroom (photo), 232 N. Trunk Ave.

East Dallas Union Depot and the railroads (photo), Pacific and Central Expressway

Ursuline Academy gorgeous gothic beginning (photo), Live Oak, Haskell, Bryan and St. Joseph

Mrs. Baird’s Bread Company (photo), 1401 N. Carroll

Bob-O-Links Golf Course (photo), Abrams, between Mercedes and McCommas

Dr Pepper National Headquarters (photo), Greenville and Mockingbird

Porter Chevrolet and the giant Santa (photo), 5526 E. Mockingbird Lane

Illustration by Brian Smith

Illustration by Brian Smith

Neighborhood oddities

UFO sighting, White Rock Lake

Haunting of the lake, Lawther Drive

Birthplace of Daffy Duck, White Rock Lake

Warren Angus Ferris Cemetery and the unmarked graves (photo), St. Francis and San Leandro

Zodiac Killer in Dallas? Lawther Drive

Fatal plane crash, near Garland Road

Brawling teenagers on the move, Greenville Avenue

Ghost and the grave of the severed arm, Motley Drive and Eastfield Parkway

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