#3 Southlake - 10/03/2009

Our third and final stop in our Adventure Across Texas today was in Southlake which has a population of 26,595 (2008) and crosses into both Tarrant and Denton Counties.

"It was the land -- a long, narrow strip of post oak and blackjack oak forest teeming with wild game known as the Easter Cross Timbers and prairie grasslands that lay on either side - that enticed people to stay in what is now Southlake.

Nomadic Indians - the Caddo, Plains Apache, Kiowa and Comanche - moved in and out of the Cross Timbers skirmishing with each other, and the Spaniards, determined to establish missions, searching for settlement sites.

White settlers were enticed to the area from the mid-1800's on, wooed by land grants and a chance to start over. Families traveled from Missouri, Tennessee and other Southern states and stopped to make a home here.

During the infancy of the Republic of Texas, Indian treaties were agreed to; most notable were those efforts made by resident Sam Houston, who worked to set boundaries between the white settlers and the Indians. Several treaty meetings were held very close to Southlake. While waiting for various tribes to arrive for one treaty signing, Houston and his entourage camped for a month at Grapevine Sprints (present-day cCoppell), where they hunted buffalo. The chiefs never arrived and the meeting was rescheduled. The treaty was signed at Bird's Fort in present-day Arlington, and as a result the Eastern Cross Timbers became the demarcation line in 1843 between Indians and white settlers." (taken from the Southlake Historical Society web site).

When I mapped our approach into Southlake, I avoided Hwy. 114 because I thought it would be hard to stop and take a picture of a Southlake sign. Well, the route we came did not have a Southlake sign. We finally had to stop and Google "Southlake City Hall" which gave us an address to city hall in the beautiful Southlake Town Square. It was just starting to rain so all we could do was take pictures but we want to return sometime just to walk around downtown.

Plaque on the courthouse.

The water tower painted on the bull's head says Southlake, bit it didn't turn out so great in this picture. But the painted bull is still kinda cool.

You can view all of our pictures to, through and on the way out of Southlake as a Flickr slideshow here.

#2 Justin - 10/03/2009

Our second stop for the day on our Adventure Across Texas was Justin which has a population of 3,030 (2008) and is located in Denton County. The area was originally settled by a band of French colonists who in 1848 established the Icarian Colony. The community was abandoned a year later, and the area remained sparsely populated until the early 1880's. In January 1887, the community petitioned postal authorities for a post office to be named Justin, in honor of Jusin Sherman, chief engineer of the Santa Fe rail line. By 1886, Jusin had a population of 100, a general store, a grocery, a hotel and a cotton gin.

Here we are at Justin City Hall. Yep, that's about as exciting as it gets in Justin.

The sign driving into town on Farm Road 407.

We had to stop for a picture when we saw this sign on our way out of Justin.

And of course, no matter where you are in Texas, it would just be wrong to let Sonic Happy Hour come and go without stopping. We didn't let that happen.

You can view all of our pictures to, through and on the way out of Justin as a Flickr slideshow here.

#1 Jacksboro - 10/03/2009

Our Adventure Across Texas began today and it was a beautiful day to be traveling. Our first destination was Jacksboro. Jacksboro is in Jack County (one of the few Texas counties to vote against secession) and has a population of 4,533 (2000). Settlers began gathering in the area in the mid-1850's and the city was officially renamed from Mesquiteville to Jacksborough in 1858 to honor the Jack Brothers, veterans of the Texas Revolution. Jacksborough was then shortened to Jacksboro in 1887.

This was the official Jacksboro sign we chose. All of our "official sign" pictures will have Tex the Armadillo (held by Brooke here) in the picture.

Another Jacksboro sign.

Jacksboro was the westernmost settlement in Texas after the Civil War although it barely survived Indian raids and was in ruins. Fort Richardson was build just south of town around 1870 providing safety for the settlers that numbered several hundred.

Rob and Amanda at Fort Richardson State Park

Hospital in Fort Richardson

Hospital in Fort Richardson

Hospital in Fort Richardson

Hospital in Fort Richardson

Mess hall in Fort Richardson soldier's barracks

Kitchen in Fort Richardson soldier's barracks

Jain in Fort Richardson. You can kind of see the 4'x8' "cell" we are standing in. Three prisoners/soldiers shared one cell.

The Chicago and Rock island Railroad arrived in 1898 and in 1910 a second railroad (the Gulf, Texas and Western) built through the town. This is the original bridge used by the railroads.

On our way out of Jacksboro, we saw these zebras in a field. When we stopped to take pictures, Amanda stepped in a fire ant mound and was bitten by 7-10 ants. Fortunately (for all of us!), Amanda brought her ant bite medicine which helped minimize the trauma a little bit.

We saw this tribute to the Armed Forces as we drove through Weatherford on the way to Jacksboro.

You can view all of our pictures to, through, and on the way out of Jacksboro as a Flickr slideshow here.