The Edge of the Prairie

Oxalis

Eons ago I needed a job and found one as a placement councilor at an employment agency. The agency didn’t stay in business long, quite possibly since there were so few jobs to be had at the time. This business was in Grand Prairie, Texas. One thing I learned was that I really didn’t want to work in that field longer than absolutely necessary; I also learned how to spell ‘prairie’.






As is alluded to by its name, Grand Prairie sits on what was once a tall grass prairie. The Blackland Prairies region, named for the deep, fertile

McFalls Park

black soils, was at one time covered by such grasses as big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass. However, with the coming of settlers, most of the original prairie was plowed to produce food and forage crops, and with its gently rolling landscape, crop production and cattle ranching are still the primary agricultural industries in the area. Way back in 1863 Alexander McRae Dechman first established the city of Grand Prairie, naming it after himself. That year he bought 239.5 acres of land east of the Trinity River and 100 acres of timber land on the west side of the river; he paid with a broken-down wagon, an oxen team and $200 in Confederate money. However, he ran into difficulties so it took 13 years before he filed a 50 acre town plat with Dallas County. That year he also traded half his ‘prairie’ property to the Texas and Pacific Railroad to make sure that the railroad came through the town. The railroad named the depot ‘Dechman’, but because of the confusion brought about by a poorly written form and an old map, the first U.S. post office called the town ‘Grand Prairie’ and it stuck. As the town grew up around the depot, a church was established. Reverend Andrew Hayter founded the West Fork United Presbyterian Church (originally called the Good Hope Cumberland Sabbath School) in 1870; it remains active today. There are other sites in Grand Prairie that harken back to the early days.

The Goodwin Cabin was built in the Watson Community of Northwest

Pavilion in McFalls Park

Grand Prairie in 1845. It was the home of Micajah Goodwin and his family from Randolf County, Alabama. As with a lot of settlers, he was the recipient of a Republic of Texas Land Grant in Peters Colony. The cabin is Tennessee notch construction-everything-lays-in-place, which means that it has no pins, bolts or other fasteners; most parts of the cabin have survived the 150-plus years of Texas weather. Mrs. Goodwin died on the property and may be the first white woman buried west of the Trinity River; her grave is in the Watson Cemetery. The cabin has been relocated to McFalls Park on what is believed to be the land that belonged to the early settler Thomas J. Vernoy. We found the park and a very nice pavilion, but never did find the cabin.

The Copeland Home is located at 125 SW Dallas Street, a part of the original town site. B.P. Hale and his wife Ruth oversaw the construction of the house in 1902. Six years later it was purchased by Dr. H.V. Copeland

Copeland House

on October 23, 1908. This large, the farm-type, white clapboard home, was designed with a high pitched roof, narrow windows and a front and back door entrance pattern. The original five rooms had twelve foot ceilings, oak hardwood floors, and the original woodwork. The front door, as well as the windows, and two light fixtures are also original to the house. At one time Dr. Copeland had a garden area and about a four acre orchard; however, the orchard property was gifted to the First Presbyterian Church in 1948. As the house is restored, original parts have been updated with modern materials that resemble those used in the original building. However, the fireplace was removed so that two closets could be added. There is also a modern bath and an enclosed back porch that was added at some time in the not too far distant past.

Incorporated as a city in 1909, Grand Prairie has participated in defense

The site of Grand Prairie Airport is now a
Veteran's memorial

and aviation industries since World War I. And although it has been removed, the Grand Prairie Airport was once home to the Curtiss Flying Service Corporation of New York that ran a school for advanced flyers. Unfortunately, the flying school was not particularly successful and was sold in late 1930 to become the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport. Although this enterprise was much more successful, it got pushed out and relocated when North American Aircraft (later LTV, then Northrup-Grumman) constructed a huge aircraft plant along the west side of Hensley Field. The airport land was sold to the U.S. Navy and developed by the Navy as a flight training facility with new runways, plus operational and maintenance facilities. These remained in operation until well after World War II. In 1954 the Aviation Section (later the 149th Aviation Battalion) of the 49th Armored Division and the Texas National Guard moved to the Grand Prairie Airport from Eagle Mountain Lake. The remaining two acres, with all of the operational and maintenance buildings, were retained by Department of the Army for continued use by the National Guard. Eventually, these were sold and the city incorporated the grounds into industrial developments, businesses, and city buildings.

Not far from the site of the historic airport is what is left of the military and aviation industry in Grand Prairie. During World War II the North

Commander's House and National Guard grounds

American Aviation Plant B built the Consolidated B-24 Liberator as well as the P-51C and K Mustang variants. After the war, Vought Aircraft (later Ling Temco Vought) took over the plant producing the F-8 Crusader and the A-7 Corsair II aircraft from 1950 through 1989. They also built missiles such as the Scout and the Multiple Launch Rocket System. Eventually Lockheed Martin bought this division and continues to operate in Grand Prairie as does Aérospatiale Helicopter, now called Airbus Helicopters, Inc. Driving by this area, it’s apparent that there is some sort of production doing on, but it’s nothing like what we’d see back in the 1960s and 1970s when we went out to see the lake and watch the planes.

Three carrots

Of course we couldn’t just drive around Grand Prairie, we had to have some lunch; we chose what we thought was a local eatery. The Good

Top L to R: Menu, Chopped steak
Bottom L to R: Club sandwich, Chicken fried steak

Day Café (3758 S Carrier Pkwy #100, Grand Prairie, TX 75052, 972-264-7060) has a listing that says, ‘The menu at this simple diner offers American and Mexican comfort foods plus burgers and breakfast’. There are actually several of these restaurants scattered around, and as advertised they do have simple food. Vince had what he described as a good chopped steak along with some very good okra and some excellent onion rings. Dave had a nicely put together club sandwich with some good fries. I had an okay chicken fried steak with some good mashed potatoes, and some very good okra. We were all pleased with our meals and said that we’d eat here again if the opportunity arose. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

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