Covering Coppell

Entry to Coppell

There are some towns that take you by surprise. I know that Coppell also has an excellent school district, and that the science program is particularly outstanding. It also has several interesting cemeteries, and some unusual places to eat.  I thought that Coppell was a town with a short history, but, as with many small towns, this is not the case.





Coppell is situated on the original land grant that J. A. Simmonds received from Peters Colony. It is marked by the Elm Fork of the Trinity

Duck Pond

River, and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway. Grapevine Creek, Denton Creek, and Cottonwood Branch still flow through the city. Grapevine Creek was actually where President Sam Houston and Republic of Texas troops camped during negotiations with area Indian tribes. Rather than a peace treaty, Houston was trying to get the Indians to help defend the republic against attacks by Mexican troops in 1843. But the town of Coppell, or what was to be Coppell, wasn’t settled until several years later.

James Parish, from Goliad, was one of the early settlers, arriving during

Housing around cemetery

the 1850s. Some twenty years later the settlement was named Gibbs Station, after Texas lieutenant governor Barnett Gibbs (an ancestor of Leroy Jethro Gibbs?), and got its first post office. In another ten years, about 1888, the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway was finished, making the town one of the stops along the line. Four years later the town was renamed as a sign of respect for banker and financier George A. Coppell. By 1914, the a population of 450 was served by a bank, two blacksmiths, two churches, two general stores, dealers in poultry, livestock, and lumber, a hardware store, and a telephone service. However, Coppell was affected by the national upheaval, its population declining to 200 by 1926; the population remained at that level for thirty years.

By 1936 the Work Projects Administration had discovered Coppell, building a park with three bridges, a dam, and walkways. During the

Anahinga and seagulls at duck pond

1940s, agricultural production supported the population; they grew cotton, melons, peanuts, oats, sweet potatoes, and wheat. Population growth was slow and steady through the 1950s and 1960s, leading to incorporation in 1962. That slow growth was accelerated by the arrival of the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport with its associated increase in trade, warehousing of materials, and necessity of supporting businesses and industry. Currently, Coppell has a population of more than 41,000. This growth has, of course, lead to the need for more housing which has, in turn, created an interesting dilemma.

Developers purchased large tracts of land on which to build houses, but

Top: Parrish Cemetery
Bottom: Confederate grave

they ran into a bit of an issue when they found that all four of the historic cemeteries were not particularly well marked. Since this discovery, fences and gates have been added to the graveyard properties, but not before roads and some houses were built on top of existing graves. Since burial grounds are interesting places, Dave and I decided to spend part of a sunny, but very cold day, exploring these historic areas. The first place we stopped was Parish Cemetery (746 Cardinal Ln, Coppell, TX 75019). James Parrish set this land aside as a final resting place for travelers, family, and friends; but when he died, Eliza, his wife, had him interred in a separate half-acre that she reserved for the family. Eliza eventually married James’s brother, Henry; they and most of their family are buried in the family plot. Evidently there also graves of two felons who were hanged located in the public part of the cemetery, but we didn’t spot them.







Interesting, but slightly disappointing since we couldn’t actually enter the grounds, is The Historic Bethel Cemetery (just south of 698 Christi Lane, Coppell, TX 75019). It is also on land donated by James Parrish in

Top: Bethel Cemetery
Bottom: Cemetery grounds

1853, and has always been a public cemetery. It was originally named Sands Cemetery, but the name was changed to Bethel before 1885. There were probably about 200 to 300 people buried here, but vandalism and deliberate destruction have left only two markers. It is thought that five men and a boy, victims of a lynching in 1869, are buried here, along with several Confederate veterans, and two former slaves. This cemetery is believed to be haunted, perhaps a reason for the defacement of the headstones. Records show that Oda Kirby is interred here. Some folks suggest that pictures taken of her tombstone are always overexposed and orbs of light can be seen near it. I would have liked to have just seen the stone.









Stringfellow-Moore Cemetery (between 516 and 524 Carter Dr., Coppell, TX 75019) is on a hill behind two very nice, large homes. We

Top: Entrance to cemetery
Bottom: WW2 grave

passed it twice before locating the easement that takes you to the gate. Although this is a public cemetery, most of the occupants seem to be children. The first burial recorded is of the unnamed daughter of A. T. and A. J. Crow in 1882. Three more Crow children, who died before the age of seven, are also there. Other graves are hidden by the huge stand of cane, but it appears that someone is trying to clean out this noxious weed so that the headstones are visible. Down at the end of the cemetery are some newer graves; we were surprised to see that this cemetery is still active. We didn’t locate anyone with a surname of Stringfellow or Moore, so why it bears this name is a mystery to us.








The Historic Bullock Cemetery (151 Washington Ct, Coppell, TX 75019) is quite nice, with benches to rest on and lots of shade trees. The folks next door have a good view of it from their swimming pool. The

Left: Confederate grave
Right: Bullock Cemetery

cemetery was created by the Bullock family upon the death of their daughter, Julia Caroline. Washington Bullock, Caroline, and their four children moved to Coppell from Kentucky in 1855, purchasing land near what became Old Town Coppell. Bullock was the first to build a brick house in Dallas County; he also ran a farm, and served as Justice of the Peace. The cemetery holds Bullock, his wife, Caroline, several of their children, and many of their extended family. Also buried here are William T. Cozby, an early Mayor of Coppell, and Civil War Veteran, Burrell B. Howell.

Wandering around in the wind and cold made us hungry so we ventured into one of Coppell’s many restaurants for a snack. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

Four carrots

J. Macklin’s Grill (130 N Denton Tap Rd #120, Coppell, TX 75019, 972-393-0200) has some really interesting food. It is described as, ‘a grill-

Top L to R: Menu, Restaurant area
Bottom L to R: Chicken tacos, Club sandwich

centric menu featuring burgers, salads & seafood in a bistro setting with abstract art’ and this is, indeed, the case. Once we were inside and seated, I remembered that I’d visited the restaurant about seven years previously – right after it opened. I don’t recall what I ordered, but evidently it was good enough that I had no adverse memories. Our waitress was very helpful and charming; she also was efficient, making ordering and getting the food go very smoothly. Dave ordered a club sandwich with sweet potato fries. He really liked his meal and commented that he wanted to return to try other items on the menu. I had chicken tacos that were very tasty, especially with the sliced avocado. These were good a day later when I had the left-overs. I was also served a spicy corn side dish that was excellent. We asked for the recipe and were told just how to prepare it. We’ve added that dish to our meals at home!

Looking out from the cane stand

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