Alpha was an unincorporated

freedmen's town In the United States, a freedmen's town was an African American municipality or community built by freedmen, former slaves who were emancipated during and after the American Civil War. These towns emerged in a number of states, most notably Texas ...

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nint ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. Founded soon after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the town peaked in the 1890s then dwindled in population throughout the 20th century before being delisted as a community in 1987. The area is now an incorporated part of the city of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Geography

Alpha was located at (32.938638, -96.803069), centered on what is now the intersection of Alpha Road and

Preston Road State Highway 289, known for most of its length as Preston Road, is a north–south Texas state highway. It begins at the intersection of Preston Road and Loop 12/Northwest Highway in Dallas. The Preston Road designation comes from the fact ...

in Dallas, Texas. Alpha Road, running east–west across

north Dallas North Dallas is an area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas (United States). The phrase "North Dallas" is also sometimes used to include any suburb or exurb north of Dallas proper within the metropolitan area. The majority of ...

, just north of Interstate 635 and just south of Spring Valley Road, is named for the community. Most of the land area is now occupied by gated communities, housing developments, and the

Valley View Center Valley View Center is a former mall located at Interstate 635 and Preston Road in north Dallas, Texas, U.S. It is owned and managed by Dallas-based Beck Ventures. The mall was formerly home to anchor stores that were once JCPenney, Macy's, Sears, ...

shopping mall. Founded as a

just after the Civil War, Alpha was located on land that had been a part of

Farmers Branch Farmers Branch, officially the City of Farmers Branch, is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 28,616 at the 2010 census. Known as ...

, Texas, on the main transportation route between Farmers Branch and Garland. The town gained a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

in 1893 and a general store in 1895. While the post office closed in 1904 as Alpha's population stood at 111, by 1933 that figure fell to 50 residents. This population would remain essentially unchanged at the

1980 census The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was th ...

and through 1987 when the town was delisted as a community. The Mount Pisgah

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

congregation built a church in Alpha in the late 1800s at what is now the corner of Spring Valley Road and Preston Road. This building was rebuilt in 1945 and vacated in 1981 when the church relocated. The building, the last major structure remaining from Alpha's heyday, was rented out and allowed to fall into disrepair. The property was put up for sale in 2010. The building was renovated and, , houses a Hispanic congregation.

References

External links

* {{authority control Former cities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Dallas County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Populated places established in the 1860s