West Dallas is an area consisting of many communities and neighborhoods in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. West Dallas lies just west 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 ...

, north of

Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is an area of Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; established in 1887 and annexed by Dallas in 1903, Oak Cliff has retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older establ ...

, and east of Irving and

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a popul ...

. Largely lying in the Trinity River floodplain, the area's history has been largely defined by its relationship to the river, to industry, and to downtown. Although not incorporated into Dallas until the 1950s, West Dallas has had a close but problematic relationship to the city since its founding. The area is currently undergoing significant changes due to its central location within the city, attracting new development and revitalization efforts but also threatening existing communities.

Geography

The City of Dallas defines West Dallas boundaries as

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from Interstate 20, I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas ...

on the south, the Trinity River on the east and north, and the Trinity River's West Fork on the west.West Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Map
Retrieved on 14 May 2009. The southern part of West Dallas is elevated by the

Austin Chalk The Austin Chalk is an upper Cretaceous geologic formation in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. It is named after type section outcrops near Austin, Texas. The formation is made up of chalk and marl. Fossils The putative galloansera ...

limestone formation, creating a continuous ridge with

that overlooks the Trinity and downtown Dallas. The majority of West Dallas lies in the Trinity River floodplain and is traversed Singleton Boulevard.

History

The recorded history of the area that would become West Dallas begins in the 1840s, when the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

offered up to 640 acres of land to

homesteaders The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

in North Texas. The town of Eagle Ford, a significant community in the early history of West Dallas, was established as a farm in 1844 by Enoch Horton at the site of ford in the west fork of the Trinity River floodplain. In 1857 Enoch's son Jacob established a grist mill that would be an important hub for the local farming community. Enoch's daughter Sarah Horton Cockrell was an important business leader in early Dallas, most notably building the first bridge connecting the city Dallas to west. In 1855, the Fourierist colony of La Réunion was established on a limestone ridge overlooking the Trinity floodplain. The colony attracted approximately five hundred European settlers starting in 1855, briefly rivaling the small town of Dallas as an urban center. Although the colony was formally dissolved in 1857 and many of the settlers returned to Europe, others such as

Benjamin Long Benjamin Long (March 7, 1838 – June 23, 1877) was a Swiss-born grocer and immigrant to Texas, where he served as Mayor of Dallas between 1868–70 and 1872–74. Biography Benjamin Long was born March 7, 1838, in Zürich, Switzerland. He marr ...

and

Jacob Boll Jacob Boll (28 May 1828 – 29 September 1880) was a Swiss naturalist and entomologist especially noted for his exploration of the Texas Red Beds. Boll was born 1828 in Würenlos, Switzerland, and educated as a pharmacist in Switzerland and Germ ...

moved to Dallas and became prominent citizens in the growing metropolis. A few, such as the Santerre and

Reverchon Reverchon Industries is a developer, designer and manufacturer of amusement park attractions that were sold all over the world. Its production unit is still set in the French city of Samois-sur-Seine, near Fontainebleau. History Gaston Reverch ...

families would remain and continue to farm the colony land until the turn of the 18th century. In 1873, 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. However its lines never went we ...

began service through West Dallas, and because of the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

, Eagle Ford would remain the western terminus of the line for several years. This led to a brief boom period for the city, as the town became a major cattle shipment hub. This brief boom period would last until 1878, when construction had resumed and Fort Worth supplanted it and Eagle Ford's significance and population declined. Industrial development and exploitation of the area began in the early 1900s, with the establishment of a brick works using the rich Trinity clay, and a cement works that processed the limestone cliffs into cement. The town of Cement, Texas was incorporated on April 28, 1908 as a segregated factory town for the Texas Portland Cement Company. Many of the workers at the cement plant were Mexican immigrants who were fleeing the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

. As West Dallas's population grew, flooding became an increasingly serious problem, as much of the area lies in the flood prone Trinity bottom lands. The Dallas Levee System was originally completed in 1932 and upgraded in the 1950s by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

, significantly addressing the flooding problem in the area. Although in 1931 Cement City had a population of 609, the population had declined to 249 in the late 1940s and by 1951 the community was no longer incorporated. In 1954, West Dallas was officially annexed by the city of Dallas. In 1955, the West Dallas housing projects were established, consisting of three separate developments, segregated by race (Blacks, Hispanics and Whites). The names of the developments were George Loving Place, Edgar Ward Place and Elmer Scott Place. On April 2, 1957, the devastating 1957 Dallas tornado passed through West Dallas. That same year, the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike opened as a toll road, and would eventually become

in 1977 when the toll was paid off. The highway would accelerate the growth of

and

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

, leading directly to the creation of

Six Flags Over Texas "Six flags over Texas" is the slogan used to describe the six sovereign countries that have had control over some or all of the current territory of the U.S. state of Texas: Spain (1519–1685; 1690–1821), France (1685–1690), Mexico (1821� ...

but also created an enormous physical barrier between West Dallas and

. In 1984, a $45 million settlement was reached with RSR Corporation on behalf of 370 West Dallas children who had been harmed by the RSR lead smelting plant's operations. On September 29, 1995 the smelting plant site was declared a

Superfund site Superfund sites are Pollution, polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. Sites include landfills, mines, manufacturing facilities, processing plants where toxic waste h ...

after decades of efforts by local residents. In March 2012, the

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spaniards, Spanish-Swiss people, Swiss architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stad ...

-designed

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Dallas, Texas, that spans the Trinity River (Texas), Trinity River. The bridge is named for Margaret Hunt Hill, an heiress and philanthropist. The bridge was constructed as part of the Tr ...

opened as part of the

Trinity River Project The Trinity River Project is a public works project undertaken in the 2000s in the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. Its goal is to redevelop the Trinity River. The project aims to turn the river's path into a collection of sports fields, tra ...

. The bridge and associated Trinity Groves retail development have marked a new era of gentrification for the neighborhood. Neighborhoods such as La Bajada have been put under pressure from rising property taxes and speculative real estate development.

Environmental history

In 1934 Murphy Metals (later known as RSR Corporation), started operating a secondary lead smelter facility in West Dallas. The process melts lead scrap into metallic lead that can then used for casting. Significant lead emissions can occur from poorly controlled refining, casting, and drossing operations. The city of Dallas annexed West Dallas into the city limits in 1954. Before that year, many residents lived in an area lacking the basic services because they resided outside the city lines. Shortly after annexationin 1956, the city built a 3,500-unit

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

complex just north of the RSR lead smelter facility. The southern edge of the public housing complex was located from the lead smelter's property line. In 1968 the

City of Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

enacted an ordinance regulating pollution thresholds for the facility. This act went unenforced - in the 1960s RSR Corp West Dallas facility released more than 269 tons of lead particles into the air each year. Few residents could afford air conditioning, so in the summers they kept their doors and windows open, directly exposing them to the toxins. In 1972, Dallas officials learned that lead could be finding its way into the bloodstreams of children who lived in West Dallas and the bordering community of East Oak Cliff. The Dallas Health Department then conducted a study - they found children living near smelters had a 36 percent increase in blood lead levels. In 1974 the city sued local smelters and RSR Corporation agreed to pay $35,000 and install new pollution control equipment - however by 1983 they still had not installed the pollution equipment. In 1981 public concern and pressure were raised after the West Dallas Boys Club had to suspend outside activity after a soil test showed lead levels 36 times those considered dangerous for children; the club was forced to close in 1983 due to high lead levels. The Dallas Alliance Environmental Task Force, a citizens group appointed by the Dallas City Council, said this in a 1983 study:

“We believe the city had missed many opportunities to serve and protect the community at large and two neighborhoods in particular in relation to the lead problem we now address. It is clear that the State and Federal governments have also failed in their opportunity to regulate and industry of this type with regard to the general welfare of citizens.”

On September 6, 1984 the Dallas Board of Adjustment ordered the smelter closed. In the summer of 1985 an out-of-court settlement for $20 million was reached between RSR and a class including 370 children and 40 property owners affected by the lead, represented by Fred Baron. In May 1993 a proposal was made to add the lead smelter site to the

National Priorities List The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protec ...

as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site. On September 28, 1994, the EPA signed the Preliminary Close Out Report for the site stating all clean-up for all the units had been completed. The EPA then signed a Ready For Reuse document in May 2005 declaring the site ready for reuse or redevelopment. The EPA reported that the clean-up resulted in direct lower lead blood leaves of children; the community also benefited by having 400 properties on of commercial property eliminated of contamination.

Demographics

In the late 1980s, the neighborhood had a population of 13,161. As of the 2000 U.S. census, there were 24,132 people living in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 2.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 37.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6% Native American, 2.4% Asian or

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 41.8% from

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino, and 15.2% from two or more races.

Neighborhoods

West Dallas has been the site of significant redevelopment since the opening of the

in 2012. New developments include Trinity Groves, on Singleton Boulevard, Sylvan/Thirty, on Fort Worth Avenue, and multiple condominiums and townhomes. These developments are bringing top-tier chefs, yoga studios, fresh-food markets, hip retail and apartments and condos with views of the downtown Dallas skyline, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and the Margaret McDermott Bridge. Long-standing neighborhoods in West Dallas prior to gentrification of the community include:

Major neighborhoods

Eagle Ford Ledbetter/Eagle Ford is a neighborhood in West Dallas, West Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Texas, United States. Geography Eagle Ford is located at (32.7848517, -96.9008376). Adjacent areas Ledbetter Neighborhood Association *Ledbetter Gardens, Dal ...

* El Aceite (mistakenly written as "La L'aceate") * La Bajada * La Loma, Dallas * Lake West * Ledbetter Gardens * Los Altos * Muncie, Dallas * Western Heights * Westmoreland Heights

Other neighborhoods

* Bickers Park * Buena Vista * Cross Hampton * Cross Westmoreland * Commerce Heights * College Park (Riggins) * Colonia Tepeyac, Dallas * Coombs West End * Crossman Ave * Gilbert-Emory * Fish Trap Projects * Greenleaf Village * Homestead Manor * La Estrella, Dallas * La Mexicanita * P J Allen No 3 * Rupert Circle Projects * Victory Gardens * Weisenberger Lucky 7 * Westmoreland Park

Industrial sections

* Lone Star Industrial Park * Singleton Industrial Area * Turnpike Distribution Center

Former places

* La Réunion * Cement City * West Dallas Housing Projects

Education

Public education

Public education in West Dallas is provided by

and Irving Independent School Districts, as well as a public charter school from Uplift Education and two private schools. Dallas schools cover over 90% of the area — only areas on the north side of the original channel of Westmoreland and on the west side of the original channel of Mountain Creek attend Irving schools. (''See: Channeling of the Trinity River'') All students zoned to Dallas ISD Schools attend Thomas A. Edison Middle Learning Center and

L. G. Pinkston High School L.G. Pinkston High School is a Public school (government funded), public secondary school in West Dallas, West Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Texas (United States, USA). L.G. Pinkston High School enrolls students in grades 7-12 and is a part of the Da ...

,Dallas ISD

(Maps: ES:''
AllenCarrCarverDeZavalaEarhartLanierMartinezSequoyah
MS:''
EdisonQuintanilla
HS:''
Pinkston
) Retrieved on 13 May 2007. as well as one of the following elementary schools: * C. F. Carr Elementary School * Sequoyah Learning Center (Demolished for L. G. Pinkston new site) * Dallas Environmental Science Academy (Now housed in the former Amelia Earhart) * George W. Carver Learning Center (Demolished for L. G. Pinkston new site) * Amelia Earhart Elementary School (Closed) * Benito Juarez (Closed) * Fredrick Douglas (Closed) * Priscilla Tyler (closed and purchased by West Dallas Community School) * Lorenzo DeZavala Elementary School * Sidney Lanier Elementary School Vanguard for Expressive Arts * Eladio R. Martinez Learning Center * Gabe P. Allen Elementary School * West Dallas STEM School All students zoned to Irving schools attend Bowie Middle School and Nimitz High School. Students living on the north side of the original channel of the West Fork of the Trinity River attend Schulze Elementary School and students living on the west side of the original channel of Mountain Creek attend Townley Elementary School.Irving ISD

(Maps: ES:''
SchulzeTownley
MS:''
Bowie
HS:''
Nimitz
) Retrieved on 13 May 2007. Students in West Dallas may also attend Uplift Heights Preparatory, a college preparatory, non-selective, but lottery-based public

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

located in the Lake West neighborhood of West Dallas. As of August 2015, Uplift Heights serves slightly more than 1,700 Pre-Kindergarten through 11th grade students. Uplift Heights will have its first graduating class in 2017. Uplift Heights Preparatory has been open since 2006 and is part of Uplift Education.

Private education

* Mayo Kindergarten, a Christian Private School, formerly located in Eagle Ford in the 5500 block of Fannie Street. Mrs. Sammie Lee Crump, was the owner and operator of the school and it was the first Black owned school in West Dallas. * West Dallas Community School, a Christian private school, is in West Dallas. * St. Mary of Carmel Catholic School, established in 1944, is located at 1716 Singleton Boulevard in the heart of West Dallas.

Post-secondary education

Dallas College Dallas College is a public community college with seven campuses in Dallas County, Texas. It serves more than 70,000 students annually in degree-granting, continuing education, and adult education programs. Dallas College offers associate degr ...

West Dallas Center.

Other educational centers and resources

* Voice of Hope Ministries, a Christian Out-of-School time program founded in 1982 is in West Dallas. They provide after school and summer programming for the children of West Dallas. * Wesley-Rankin Community Center * Readers To Leaders * Mercy Street

Government agencies and organizations

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

Dallas Main Post Office processing center *

Dallas Public Library The Dallas Public Library (DPL) is the public library system that serves the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. With more than 4 million items and 30 locations, the Dallas Public Library is the largest public library system in North Texas. A ...

West Dallas Branch is at 2332 Singleton Blvd. *

West Dallas Center * West Dallas Multipurpose Center * Builders of Hope * SPCA of Texas

Transportation

Bus

DART Dart or DART may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dart ...

* GoLink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Area_Rapid_Transit#GoLink

Light rail

** West End Station **

Dallas Union Station Dallas Union Station, officially Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station (or simply EBJ Union Station), also known as Dallas Union Terminal, is a large intermodal railroad station in Dallas, Texas. It is the third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, b ...

known as the Eddie Berniece Johnson or EBJ Union Station **

Victory Station Victory station is a mass transit station in Dallas, Texas, United States. It serves the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line, DART light rail trains, and DART buses. Located along the Stemmons Corridor in the Uptown neighborhood, the ...

Alternative Transportation

* West Dallas Circuit https://www.ridecircuit.com/westdallas

Highways

* Interstate 35E *

Texas State Highway Spur 366 Spur 366, also named the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, is a controlled-access highway, freeway that connects Beckley Avenue and Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas to Interstate 35E (Texas), Interstate 35E, Interstate 345 and U.S. Route 75 in Te ...

Texas State Highway Loop 12 Loop 12 is a state highway that runs mostly within the city limits of Dallas, Texas. The western segment of the loop is named after General Walton Walker, who served and died in South Korea. During the 1950s and 1960s, Loop 12 was the outer ...

Dallas North Tollway The Dallas North Tollway (DNT, or simply the Tollway) is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), which runs from Interstate 35E (Texas), Interstate 35E near Downtown Dall ...

Notable people

* Alexander Cockrell and Sarah Horton Cockrell, business and civic leaders in mid to late 19th century Dallas *

Julien Reverchon Julien Reverchon (August 3, 1837 – December 30, 1905) was a French botanist. Biography Childhood Reverchon was born on August 3, 1837, in Diémoz, France, to Jacques Maximilien and Florine (Pete) Reverchon. He was the brother of Elisée ...

, renowned botanist and member of

La Réunion (Dallas) La Réunion was a utopian socialism, utopian socialist community formed in 1855 by primarily French people, French, Belgians, Belgian, and Swiss people, Swiss colonists on the south bank of the Trinity River (Texas), Trinity River in central Da ...

colony *

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut "Champion" Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were American outlaws who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, committing a ser ...

, Great Depression-era celebrity criminals * Mattie Lee Nash, first West Dallas African American City Councilwoman, known as the Mayor of West Dallas, fought tirelessly to better the West Dallas community was elected in 1991 and served one term. * Actress

Regina Taylor Regina Taylor (born August 22, 1960) is an American actress and playwright. She has won several awards throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award. In July 2017, Taylor was announced as the new Denzel Washington En ...

"Black History Month: Local legends in music, theater, dance, and more", The Dallas Morning News, February 3, 2006 *

The D.O.C. Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known by his stage name the D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Along with his solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew, and later co-wr ...

, pioneering gangster rapper known for his work with

N.W.A. N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

and

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

References

External links

Serve West Dallas

West Dallas Chamber of Commerce

Brother Bill's Helping Hand
{{Coord missing, Texas Environmental racism in the United States Environmental issues in Texas