Scyene ( ) was a small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in East Central

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 nin ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States, 10 miles east-southeast of

downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...

. It is now a neighborhood in east Dallas, just west of

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

. The town's location was bounded by South Sam Houston and Cheyenne roads on the east, Military Parkway on the north, North Prairie Creek (the creek, not the road) on the west, and Bruton Road on the south. The center of the town was located at the intersection of Scyene Road and North Saint Augustine Drive (9600 Scyene Rd. & 3000 N. St. Augustine Dr.). Scyene was officially established in 1854 when 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 ser ...

was built in the city. Prior to that the town had been called either Thorpville or Prairie Creek. The town name was suggested by James Beeman with the spelling of "Seine," but residents first spelled it "Sceyne," which eventually changed to Scyene. The town was notable for residents

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

and

Frank James Alexander Franklin James (January 10, 1843 – February 18, 1915) was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an outlaw. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger ...

Cole Cole may refer to: Plants * Cole crops of the genus ''Brassica'', especially cabbage, kale, or rape (rapeseed). People * Cole (given name), people with the given name Cole * Cole (surname), people with the surname Cole Companies *Cole Motor ...

and

Bob Younger Robert Ewing Younger (October 29, 1853 – September 16, 1889) was an American criminal and outlaw, the younger brother of Cole Younger, Cole, Jim Younger, Jim and John Younger. He was a member of the James–Younger Gang. Life Born in Missou ...

, and Myra Shirley, later known as

Belle Starr Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr (February 5, 1848 – February 3, 1889), better known as Belle Starr, was an American outlaw who gained national notoriety after her violent death. She associated with the James–Younger Gang and other outlaw ...

, who moved to Scyene during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, in 1864. At its zenith, in 1873, Scyene had a population of approximately 300, a

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

, a wagon factory, and six

saloons Saloon may refer to: Buildings and businesses * One of the bars in a traditional British pub * An alternative name for a bar (establishment) * Western saloon, a historical style of American bar * The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...

. That same year, however, the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

bypassed the town due to its refusal to build a depot at its own expense, causing a slow decline of the town into today's Dallas neighborhood and giving rise to the city of Mesquite, where the railroad built its own depot. In the mid to late 1950s, a developer built homes and shopping in the area called Riverway Estates/Bruton Terrace, named for the homes lining the water formed by the lake known as Lake June. While the dam on Prairie Creek is now open, and the bulk of the lake has dwindled, the lake still exists. The eastern portion of this development is located in what was once part of the town of Scyene. Scyene was annexed to Dallas in 1950. Meeting place 2.jpg, Historical Marker ~ Scyene Meeting Place Historical Marker Scyene.jpg, Historical Marker ~ Old Scyene Road

External links

* Geography of Dallas County, Texas Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Texas Populated places disestablished in 1950 1950 disestablishments in Texas {{DallasCountyTX-geo-stub