Origins of City Names in Texas (Houston, Dallas: living, military, design)

[crbcrbrgv]

Meadows Place, Texas is a small yet incorporated town that borders the southwest side of Houston. Up to 1983, Meadows Place was a part of Stafford. Not liking the direction Stafford was going, they decided to secede from Airport Rd. up to Bellfort. Initially, the town was called "Meadows" however the fact that there is already a city in Texas called "Meadows" caused officials to add the word "Place" to the name. Today, Meadows Place could probably be called "Alief South" as it is full of homeowners who got fed up with rising crime in their former neighborhood.

[car957]

Cut and Shoot. Named after a dispute that almost became violent over the steeple of the town's church.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/o.../CC/hlc65.html

This is one of the more interesting threads on this website. I look forward to more about the history of Texas communities.

[blueskies49]

Arlington, named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's hometown of Arlington, Virginia.

Cleburne, south of Fort Worth, named after another Confederate general, Patrick Cleburne.

Grand Prairie supposedly came by its name after someone, years before it was developed, came to the area for the first time and declared "what a grand prairie!"

[carolmcb]

Rancho Viejo - is a resort community a few miles northwest of Brownsville. It is composed of the original Spanish land grant of Potrero del Espiritu Santo. The grantee, Jose Salvaor de la Garza established 2 ranches there in 1770, Espiritu Santo ranch and El Tanque ranch. These ranches later became known as Rancho Viejo.

When I was growing up it was still a ranch and still called Rancho Viejo. One of my best friend's grandmother was associated with the management of the ranch. I remember orange groves but no cattle. I stayed at the old ranch house. It was perfect, with cattle horns hung on the walls and rawhide covered easy chairs. That is where I had my first cup of coffee. Well, I thought it was coffee. I was still in elementary school and the cup was filled with a little coffee, a lot of cream, sugar and cinnamon. I felt so grown up. I have never forgotten the coffee or the ranch.

Rancho Viejo incorporated into a township in 1980. It has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the Valley.

[RGV]

I love all things confederate. Thx for all the info guys and esp the confederate connection blueskies.

[car957]

Langtry, home of Judge Roy Bean was named after the civil engineer who supervised chinese laborers in the construction of the railroad.

Langtry has quite a bit of history:

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/.../LL/hll17.html

[destin04]

I would like to know the origin of Tatum.....it's located in E. TX. That's my maiden name and I've always been interested to know if it was any of my family.

[RGV]

Tatum, twenty-one miles northeast of Henderson on the Rusk-Panola county line, was settled in the 1840s by Albert and Mary C. Tatum, for whom it was named. In 1848 the Tatums built a plantation in the area; it was so large that the boundaries were said to be "out of gunshot sound of the mansion." The plantation house was very grand, with a long hall for dances, where over the years thousands of guests wrote their names on one wall.

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/...s/TT/hjt2.html


If any relation then there's some money in your family.


Found some more info:

Another pioneer was Albert Tatum who brought his family, household, and slaves from his Alabama plantation in the 1840's and settled first in Harmony Hill, a thriving town four miles from the future town of Tatum.

The Tatum family established a plantation, which is now the city of Tatum, in 1865. Former slaves, family members, and an abundance of good land, timber, and water produced a successful business enterprise.

Tatum's home was built at the crossroads of the Trammel Trace and other trails leading east and west. The house still stands today as a monument to the spirit of the Tatum family.

http://www.tatumtexas.com/1hist.htm

[car957]

Poteet, home of some of the best strawberries, is named after the postmaster.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/o.../PP/hgp11.html

We are so fortunate to live in State with such great history.

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by RGV

I love all things confederate. Thx for all the info guys and esp the confederate connection blueskies.

RGV, lots of confederate history in Texas, as you know because it was settled mainly by Southerners, not counting the Tejanos who were already here.

Lee Park in Dallas, named after Robert E. Lee, has a 3/4 replica of his house in or near the park which is used for get-togethers including weddings and all kinds of events. Jefferson Davis Blvd., named for the confederate president, is in Oak Cliff, Confederate Way Blvd. is in Fort Worth. General Lee considered his Texas troops who fought in the Civil War to be his best and bravest. The Lone Star flag was carried into every major civil war battle and the last battle was fought in Texas.

RGV, if you've never been, there is a confederate general monument in the old Founder's Cemetary by Dallas city hall near the convention center. There are confederate statues and monuments at some of the old universities in Texas. Also at the state capital in Austin, or there were, till Bush took them down.

There's much more, these are just some examples.