Yonder in Euless

City of Euless

Before it was a town, the area near Euless was on the edge of Bird's Fort in 1841. The community actually began in about 1845, when Isham Crowley and a small party of pioneers reached the convergence of Big Bear and Little Bear creeks. There, on what is now the DFW airport grounds, a post office was founded in 1857, named Estill's Station. Nearby were a school, a church, a store, and a cotton gin. The post office closed in 1868 then reopened in 1881–1904, under the name Estelle. Most of the community gradually wandered away, moving to the present Euless and Irving.









Euless is actually named for Elisha Adam Euless, a native of Bedford county Tennessee who moved to Texas in 1867. Three years later he

Historic Methodist Church location

married Judy Ann Trigg, who was also a Tennessee native. They began farming, buying land in 1871. The young man did so well with his farm and relations within the community that he was elected a Tarrant county constable in 1876. Although an officer of the law, he kept farming which led to the purchase of 170 acres from his mother-in-law, Mary Ann Trigg, in 1879. With the land came a two-story grange hall (“The Grange, officially referred to as The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a fraternal organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture”; basically this is a group of farmers.). The first floor was used as a community school and by the local Methodist and Presbyterian churches; the grange used the top floor. Because Euless prospered as a farmer, producing considerable amounts of cotton and corn, he bought a cotton gin. He turned the gin into a business, again supporting the community and adding to his prosperity. With the improvements in the area around the land Euless owned a prosperous community developed; the residents decided to name the city ‘Euless’ in honor of him. Euless was elected Tarrant county sheriff for two terms, serving from 1892 to 1896 and was the first sheriff to occupy the Tarrant County Courthouse completed in 1895. He died in Fort Worth in 1911 and was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.

While there are several historic cemeteries in Euless, the most interesting is located under the flight paths of planes landing at DFW Airport and

Top L to R: Cemetery art
Bottom L to R: Civil war veteran, Tonga Islander

adjacent to Bear Creek Golf Course. Bear Creek Cemetery was established next to the Bear Creek Missionary Baptist Church, which was organized in 1853. The earliest marked grave is that of Hiram Jackson Farris (d. 1858), the infant son of G.W. and Mary Farris. Isham Crowley (1798-1878). Like many settlers, they came to Texas as members of Peters Colony; they donated the burial ground and deeded it to church trustees in 1876. Still an active cemetery, Bear Creek is the resting place of several Tarrant County pioneers. This is what I call a ‘proper cemetery’ with markers that are artistic, as well as meaningful. This cemetery art ranges from the traditional obelisks with carved flourishes and flowers to newly designed laser cut images of the people interred beneath the stones. There are several Civil War veterans buried here, as well as those who served in the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. Would that we never had to raise another monument to those to payed the supreme sacrifice. Along with memorials to children, this cemetery also has a rose garden and a rock garden with memory stones rather than actual graves. Euless is notable for having the largest concentration of Tongans outside of Tonga, with a community of about 3,000 people. There are several folks from Tonga buried in the Bear Creek Cemetery.

Another piece of history is the Old Iron Bridge; this is a truss bridge built in 1889. It now sits inside South Euless Park behind South Euless Elementary School off South Main Street. Euless farmers usually

Old Iron Bridge

journeyed to Dallas to buy supplies and sell produce and cotton, but 1903 the Rock Island Railroad built a depot two miles south of Euless at Tarrant (a.k.a. Candon until 1905). Tarrant had a post office and may have had 100 people while Euless twenty-five. By the 1930s the Rock Island had discontinued regular service, and the depot closed. And of course by then Euless had a population of 100, while Tarrant's had dropped to twenty-five. Eventually Tarrant merged with Euless and community life revolved around the general store run by the Fuller family, the Baptist and Methodist churches, and the Euless School. Euless continued to grow, with the coming of the Tennessee Dairies receiving plant, the Fort Worth Sand and Gravel Company, and bootlegging during prohibition. However, the little town was struck with violence during the 1950s and the issues with desegregation. Although schools were supposed to be ‘separate but equal’ the Mosier Valley elementary school was anything but equal and parents took issue with the way in which their children were being educated. Relations remained strained, although the school was quickly refurbished, until 1968 when Euless, Hurst, and Bedford school districts merged and desegregation actually occurred. The growth of the town continued to be supplemented by the construction of Amon Carter Field, a local airport (if you know where to look, you can still see old runways), and eventually by the creation of DFW Airport. Although you can no longer tell where Hurst, Euless, and Bedford begin and end except by the posted welcome signs, Euless now has a population of 51,277 – and it is still growing.

We were surprised to find that our adventure to check out a new restaurant actually took us to Euless. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews. The Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar (2521 State Highway 121, Euless, TX 76039, 682-738-0861) is a ‘Relaxed, lodge-chic chain serving global comfort fare, including stir-fries,

Top L to R: Menu, Fish tacos
Bottom L to R: Fish and chips, Exterior

pot roast and pastas’. We visited the establishment because we are always on the look-out for a place that serves breakfast on the weekends and has an interesting menu. Indeed, the menu is interesting; it’s a delight to the eyes as well as to the imagination. Whoever decided the make the menu attractive had a good idea. It is decorated with what appears to be watercolor images that enhance rather than obscure the text. Dave had Beer Battered Fish and Chips; the fish was cold-water cod, accompanied by housemade tartar sauce, creamy apple cider coleslaw, and fries that were crispy without being greasy. I had the Fish Tacos with fiery carrot slaw (and yes, it was spicy), chile vinegar, cilantro black beans, and Spanish rice. We were very pleased with our meal, the service and the setting. Prices were what we expected for the area (a newish shopping/living center). They do have breakfast, and we will be giving this a try the next time we’re up for an early morning road trip.

Founding of Euless

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