We are Making History!

Big Spring in the Snow - DallasTrinityTrails.blogspot.com

I really can't watch anymore....come on Cowboys!

Better do this and get the mind off the game.

We are making history! How is that you ask?

If you have been keeping up with the blog, though I have been rather slow in writing, you have seen information about Big Spring. Yes, a Spring that still flows in Dallas. Books have been written about the number of springs in Texas, but this area was not covered well due to the fact that too many springs here were already gone and others were unknown or had been forgotten.

Oh no, I saw the final score. Good try guys...

So back to the history making part. If you live in Dallas you will be aware of the Preservation for historical structures and places like Fair Park for all of the fabulous art work and buildings, love that place! But never has a place without structures been designated an Historical Landmark, until now, well almost.

For the past 2 years we have been working to establish long lasting recognition for Big Spring due to its historical connection with Dallas. Margaret Beeman Bryan and John Neely Bryan, credited with the founding of Dallas, lived there after the Civil War. Margaret sold it to the Pemberton family. Billy Ray and Zada Pemberton still own part of that land today. The Spring section was purchased by the City of Dallas (COD) from another part of the Pemberton family. This important connection makes it a place to be preserved and protected.

               Billy Ray Pemberton, Jill Jordan COD, and MC Toyer, descendant of the Beeman family

                                                                                                      photo by dallastrinitytrails.blogspot.com

We asked the COD how to make that happen and with the help of Mark Doty, senior planner for City of Dallas Historic Preservation, the Dallas Landmark Designation is in the works of being finalized. This is a new approach for the Department and the City to recognize that there are very special areas of Dallas, sans buildings, that should be recognized for their place in our history. It has also been speculated that the Spring Sam Houston visited, recorded in his journal on his way to Byrds Fort to sign a treaty with the Indians, was in fact Big Spring. History here in the Great Trinity Forest.

We are working with the City and LAERF to make sure that this place will be here for all of us to enjoy and that we will continue to learn about the history, both the natural history and settlement history, of this beautiful place. We call ourselves the Pemberton Preservation League, a loosely formed group of individuals that have degrees in areas ranging from Archaeology, Paleontology, Wildlife Biology, Education, Finance, Engineering, Construction and more. Some are retired but many are not. Some have military backgrounds. The common thread is the connection with the land and the desire to preserve our history. On we continue to make it happen.