ROAD TRIP: A BBM Game

[Meryl]

Yuncu, Mexico

[jpwagoneer1964]

University Park, Tx

UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS. University Park is on Interstate Highway 35E, U.S. Highway 75, and Loop 12 five miles north of downtown Dallas in central Dallas County, bordered by the city of Dallas on the north and east and Highland Park to the south. Its name originated because of its location adjacent to Southern Methodist University. SMU officially opened in 1915, and homes were built around the campus to house teachers and staff of the university. Water for the campus came from artesian wells and an overhead storage tank, and sewage lines were connected to Dallas's lines in Oak Lawn. Homes in the area were joined to the university water and sewer lines, and homeowners paid the university for these services. By 1924, with more than 380 homes in the area, the university could no longer afford to supply water and sewer lines to residential areas. The cities of Dallas and Highland Park refused to annex the University Park area because of the financial burden of laying new sewer lines and supplying garbage removal and police and fire protection. Therefore, in 1924 the city of University Park was incorporated with a population of 1,200. The first city government consisted of a mayor and five aldermen, but on April 6, 1926, residents voted to adopt a commission form of city government,qv which the city still retained in 1992. On August 16, 1924, a $150,000 bond election was held to set up fire protection and to finance water and street improvements. The town organized its own garbage-disposal system in 1925. Snider Plaza, a popular shopping center, opened in 1927, although it remained largely undeveloped throughout the Great Depression.qv The population of University Park grew rapidly, mirroring the growth of Southern Methodist University and the nearby cities of Dallas and Highland Park. By 1945 University Park had an estimated population of 18,000 and 120 businesses. In that year the city of Dallas attempted to annex the cities of Highland Park and University Park, commonly referred to as the Park Cities, but was turned down by a narrow margin. After their refusal of a merger, Dallas used its home rule powers to annex territory adjacent to University Park, cutting off all land for expansion. University Park still relied on the city of Dallas for such services as water and sewage treatment, but in 1947 the Park Cities set up their own Water Control and Improvement District to take over these functions. A water-purification plant, reservoir, and pressure tank were completed in 1950. Because it was surrounded by Dallas, University Park was prevented from annexing land for growth as most communities in Dallas County did, and its area remained 3.7 square miles. Few lots were left vacant on which to build new homes. The population rose from 4,200 in 1930 to 14,458 in 1940 and 23,823 in 1950. Between 1950 and 1990 it fluctuated moderately, reaching an estimated 28,500 in 1956. In that year University Park had eleven churches and seven parks. Its schools formed part of the Highland Park school system, an arrangement still in effect in 1992. The 1990 population of 22,259 was primarily white, 3 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent black. The university remained the largest employer, and businesses continued to be primarily university or student related.

Mark

[Fran]

Keechi, TX

Keechi is on Farm Road 832 one mile south of U.S. Highway 75 and eighteen miles north of Centerville in northern Leon County.  It is named after the Keechi Indians, who used to camp in the area.

[Meryl]

Islay, WY

[jpwagoneer1964]

Yerba, Mx

Pop. 2296


Mark

[MaineWriter]

Acol, TX

Acol, a logging camp owned by Angelina County Lumber Company, was moved on railroad cars so it could be moved from forest to forest. The town later became famous in forest history for its "wandering post office."

Leslie

[Fran]

Longview, TX

Longview, the county seat of Gregg County, is on Interstate Highway 20 and U.S. highways 80 and 259, about 125 miles east of Dallas in eastern Gregg and western Harrison counties.  In the early 1990s it was the largest city in Gregg County.

[jpwagoneer1964]

Winton, Wy

Directions: Go approx 10.5 miles north on 191N, turn right onto County Road 4-18, this road forks, you want to bear right at the fork to stay on 4-18, if you continue north the road turns into 4-17 (the road looks like it ought to go this way :-) If you see the 4-17 sign, turn around and go back a couple hundred feet and you'll see the road you need to be on. 4-17 is an interesting road in itself...there are several herd of wild horses there, it leads to the turn off to the White Mountain Petroglyphs and if you just keep going on it as far as you can with 2WD, you end up at the largest moving sand dunes in the Americas. If you want to look at the dunes, take the Study Area road, it's much prettier than the Off Road Vehicle area. The road actually continues past the dunes, you can drive a loop that will take you through South Superior (4-16) and then back through Winton from the other side, but you'd likely need 4WD to get through the sand that's blown across the road. Winton is quite a ways back, I've never marked the mileage, but you can pretty easily think that you must've missed it, it will come shortly after going up a fairly steep hill (don't try this in the winter in a 2WD, nearly got myself stuck out there). Winton is right there on the road, there's a really large concrete foundation and some remaining structural walls on the left, on the right across a ravine is a crumbling brick wall (no idea why it was there), there's no way across the ravine except by foot and it's very steep. If you wander around this area, you'll find something to the right of the big ruin that looks like some sort of cellar. Up the hill behind it is some kind of barbed wire fenced in area, the fence is falling down. You can go a little further up the road and see a few more ruins. You probably wouldn't really want to go up here in the evening, it's pretty easy to get lost on these roads if your not familiar with them and during the summer and weekends during the school year kids use the Winton area for keggers and other mischief :-) Anyone heading out on these Country Roads should probably stop by the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce on Dewar Drive and ask to purchase a Sweetwater County Search and Rescue map...$3.00 and worth every penny :-)

 

I was surprised to read that Winton, Wyo. was deserted in the 1930's. In fact, I lived in Winton in the early 1950's. My aunt, Gaila Griffin, owned and operated the boarding house located approximately 50 yards west of the cement foundation mentioned in your article. The boarding house was home for some 50 miners working in the six operating mines in Winton.

The foundation and basement structure you mention is all that remains of the Union Pacific store. The brick wall was part of a retaining wall for the road up to Number 1 mine. In all, there were six mines operating in the early 1950's and a few hundred single family dwellings were occupied at that time. Winton was laid out in a hodge-podge fashion with the main street running east and west in front of the company store. In addition to the store was the boarding house, a pool hall, doctor's office, elementary school, post office, tiple, bath house, and, of course, the mine office. The high school students from Winton, Dines, and Stansbury attended a modern facility in Reliance. Others went in to Rock Springs.

My wife and I visited the site in 1997 in an automobile but due to limited (non-existing) road maintenance I would recommend a 4WD today.


And yes Winton is also a car, one of the very firstto travel across the United States.


In the spring and summer of 1903, H. Nelson Jackson completed the first transcontinental automobile trip in this car. Jackson, a physician from Burlington, Vermont, was on vacation in San Francisco and made a bet at a gentlemen’s club that a car could endure the grueling trip through the rugged West, where there were virtually no roads, and across the East in less than 90 days. He purchased a slightly used Winton touring car, hired mechanic Sewall Crocker to accompany him, stocked up on supplies, and took off for New York City. The trip took 64 days, including breakdowns, delays while waiting for parts to arrive, and hoisting the Winton up and over rocky terrain and mudholes. Jackson and Crocker were hailed as heroes and inspired a generation of automobile enthusiasts. Their much-publicized journey caused people to think about the possibilities of long-distance auto travel, and think of cars as an alternative to railroads.

[Meryl]

Northbank, AB

[Fran]

Koerth, TX

Koerth is on Farm Road 531 three miles west of U.S. Highway 77 in south central Lavaca County.  The families of William Ryan, Bernard O'Dougherty, and other settlers of Irish descent first settled the area in 1833.  The original community was known as Yellow Bank, for Yellow Bank Creek, and Antioch.