#18 - Maypearl 09/06/2010

Last stop on today's trip was Maypearl. We've been through Maypearl several times as Dad had a trailer here and small piece of property for the horses. The Veterans Memorial was new since we'd been here last.

Self-explanatory

There is something wrong with this sign. Do you know what it is? No, I'm not referring to the crumbling brick at the top. Something is wrong with the sign. (If you know, post it in the comments section.)

I submitted this picture to City-Data.com because they had no pictures of Maypearl. Be interesting to see if they use it.

#17 - Red Oak 09/06/2010

City number two for today's outing was Red Oak.

Amanda was afraid there was bull nettle near the sign and this is the only way she would get in the picture with me. (You can see Tex, the official Hurt's Adventure Across Texas mascot, right?)

Red Oak is on Interstate Highway 35 twenty miles south of Dallas in northern Ellis County. In 1844 James E. Patton and his family settled on Red Oak Creek a few miles southeast of Billingsley Fort, at the site of present Ovilla. The first post office came to the area in 1847 from Mitchell's Branch, two miles from the site of future Red Oak. The settlement was originally called Possum Trot because of the abundance of possums in the area. It was renamed Red Oak after Ellis County was formed in 1849 for the creek. Before the Civil War the principal crop of the local farmers was wheat. In the 1860s an increase in cotton production occurred because more slaves came to the area from other southern states. Cotton was still produced in 1988, although farming was not central to the local economy.

James E. Patton also founded the first church in the area, the Shiloh congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, on July 25, 1847. Other churches, including the Baptist and the Methodist, were founded at cemeteries. In 1884 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad reached Red Oak. The townspeople did not want the trains to disturb the tranquility of the community, so the tracks passed by a mile northwest. The line was finally finished in 1890, connecting Red Oak with Dallas and Waco. The town eventually moved out and centered along the railroad. Fires in 1909 and 1919 caused extensive damage first to the southern and later to the northern part of town. Red Oak was incorporated in 1949. The population was 350 in 1950 and 1,882 in 1980. In 1967 Red Oak was used as the site for three days of filming for the motion picture Bonnie and Clyde. A local woman, Mrs. Mabel Cavitt, made a brief appearance as Bonnie Parker's mother. In 1987 Red Oak had an estimated 2,425 residents, most of whom were commuters to Dallas or Fort Worth. In 1990 the population was 3,124. The population grew to 4,301 in 2000. (taken from The Handbook of Texas Online)

Today's driver

The girls

Amanda is not a big fan of long trips in the car. Today's round trip was only 96 miles.

#16 - Duncanville 09/06/2010

Between some very HOT days this summer and a lot going on, it's been a while since we've taken our day trips visiting our list of Texas cities, but we were able to head out today. Since Amanda spent the night at a friend's house and we did not get an early start, we stayed close to Arlington today. Our first stop was Duncanville, about 17 miles from our house.

This is the Duncanville sign we pass by every time we pass every time we go to visit my parents. It is on Cedar Ridge right off of I-20.

Duncanville has a very pretty City Hall complex

The origin of Duncanville can be traced as far back as 1840, with the community's beginning as a small settlement. It was not until some forty years later, with the construction of the Chicago, Texas and Mexican Central Railroad connecting Dallas and Cleburne that Duncanville began to emerge as a town. The coming of the railroad to Duncanville changed the community. The railroad line connecting Dallas to Cleburne was to be completed not later than April 15, 1881. With time running short to complete the railroad on time, a shortened method of railroad construction was adopted at an open field owned by James R. Horne and G.H. Finley. Doing this allowed the railroad to arrive in Cleburne two hours ahead of the deadline and a switching station was later built in the open field. It was called Duncan switch.

In 1881, Charles Nance arrived by train at Duncan Switch to visit his sister, Mrs. William Horne. Finding the area much to his liking and envisioning a bright future for this part of Dallas County, Mr. Nance made the decision to stay in this area. He formed a partnership with Chris Horne, for fifty dollars purchased a lot from G.H. Finely, and built the first building, Nance Brothers, at Duncan Switch.

In August of 1881, Nance forwarded a petition to the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C. to establish a post office. Residents at that time were receiving their mail at post offices in Cedar Hill, Wheatland, or Jim Town. His application was returned with a notation to choose a different name because there was already a post office in Jasper County, Texas with the name of Duncan. There had been individuals in the community who had refused to sign Nance's original petition and many others who were hard to convince, so he simply added "ville" to Duncan, so it now read Duncanville. The petition was returned to Washington and, in early October 1881, he received the order to open the new post office under the name Duncanville.

With Mr. Nance as the first postmaster, the post office opened in the general store and the first mail bags were received October 1, 1882.The growth and development of Duncanville occurred along the railroad tracks. In 1883, a large two-room depot was constructed immediately adjacent to the railroad tracks. Over time, businesses began emerging along the east side of the tracks. The first businesses to be established were the cotton gin, two general stores, and a doctor's office. (taken from the City of Duncanvill web site)

#15 - Lorena 5/31/2010

Our last city for the day was Lorena which was about 15 minute drive south of Waco on I-35. We saw this sign on the say into town and pulled over for a quick picture. I'm not sure if there was some bull nettle or stinging nettle or what it was, but the girls (wearing shorts) got into some weed here that caused their legs to burn for the next 15 minutes so. Ouch!

We stopped by the Chamber of Commerce to grab a quick family picture with Tex, our armadillo mascot for our travels across the state.

Amanda and Tex took a nap on the way home.

#14 - Waco 5/31/2010

Our second city on today's Memorial Day outing was Waco. We drove up and down I-35 looking for a Waco sign and could not find one! I carried around a picture of this wall asking people in Waco if they knew where it was so we could take a picture, but nobody seemed to know where it was.

One of the goals for today's trip was to find a city that had something to do. Amanda's first request was a museum, but as we were looking at various cities, Brooke found the Cameron Park Zoo near Waco and Amanda quickly changed her vote. Here are the girls behind a waterfall at the zoo.

Here's my picture of a regal tang...we just called her Dory at the zoo until I had time to look up what kind of fish it was. Captured this one using the macro setting on my camera.

Lion fish...yup, had to look up this one when I got home, too. No, I did not read the sign on the aquarium.

Not sure of the name of this bird or even how to look it up. In my photo album, I just called it "cool bird". If you know the name, feel free to paste it in the comment section.

#13 - Hillsboro 5/31/2010

Since Amanda was out of school and Brooke and I were off work for Memorial Day, we decided it would be a good day to visit a few more cities. The first city we hit on the way out was Hillsboro. Here we are at the Chamber of Commerce.

On the way into Hillsboro.

The Hill Country courthouse in Hillsboro.

#12 Hico - 03/18/2010

Hico was town 4 of 4 on our Thursday day trip during Spring Break 2010. This turned out to be quite an enjoyable town to visit! As I researched Hico on the internet, I saw a picture of the bank and knew I had to get that picture. This is the picture I took. I edited it and made it monochrome for that "old look".

Downtown Hico was fun and interesting.

More downtown Hico.

This was our first "Hico sign" as we were driving into town.

We could not find the "official" town sign. I asked a shop keeper downtown where it might be. She must have been connected cause she called City Hall and said "Hi (calling whoever answered by name), this is Shy..." and she asked about the sign. They didn't have the answer so she called some other city official she knew by name and got the answer for us.

Hico (pronounced "high-coh") is a city in Hamilton County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,341 at the 2000 census. Each July, Hico hosts the Hico Old Settlers Reunion.
Ollie P. Roberts a/k/a "Brushy Bill", a resident of Hico, claimed to be Billy The Kid. Although his claim has been largely discredited by historians, Hico has capitalized to a small extent on his fame (or infamy) by opening a "Billy The Kid" museum where visitors can decide whether Brushy Bill was or was not the infamous outlaw. (Hico, TX web page)

Amanda demonstrating her flair for the dramatic and for fun posing in front of a Billy the Kid statue.

The Billy the Kid museum wasn't all that exciting, but the story was interesting.

I can't remember if this was supposed to be an actual jail cell that held Billy the Kid or not. It was a fun picture nonetheless.

OK, these things always look goofy, but why is it we always want to stop and get our picture taken anyway?