Pen Porter

 Occasionally, just before and just after I moved to Texas from California last year, people told me “That’s going to be a big change of pace.” It was. But not in the way any of them are thinking. I actually live in a far more urban area now than I did before. I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. It had a population of more than 7.6 million at the 2020 census. No doubt it has grown somewhat in the two years since then, as my husband Don and I are two of the new ones. Making it seem even more urban for us, we are only two miles away from the largest city in this metropolitan area. That’s Dallas, with a 2022 population of 1.3 million. Our city, Richardson, brings in just over 125,000 more. The entire area spans 11 counties, two other cities (Fort Worth and Arlington) with populations over 400,000 and quite a few others with populations over 200,000. By contrast, I previously lived for 32 years in the Inland Empire metropolitan area, which is just two geographically large...

  The historic 1897 Denton County Courthouse and the square of late 19th/early 20th century buildings surrounding it are iconic of this county northwest of Dallas. But the county offers old, new, suburban and very rural areas to enjoy.  Previously, I discussed places I enjoy visiting in the southeast portion of Denton County. This area is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Today, we will look at some of my favorite places I have visited or want to visit in the rest of Denton County, an area that either still maintains its rural character or has developed a nouveau rural character. The southwest portion of Denton County is the latter, nouveau rural. Because of my husband's employment in the estate sale business, I have visited two of these suburbs, Argyle and Double Oak. Both of these small towns are primarily large homes, none of them very old, on half-acre lots with no farms in the area. Argyle is immediately south of Denton, while Double Oak is eight miles southeast ...

  Enjoying a slice of pie in The Colony. It's one of the best pie shops in all of DFW.  Mary “Polly” Dodson Graham, my fourth great-grandmother, moved to Texas with her husband, children and two children in-laws in 1856. Although they initially lived not too far from the Oklahoma border, she and my fourth great-grandfather James Graham moved to Denton County (Pilot Point) before his death in 1867. My fourth great-grandmother lived in Pilot Point, along with at least one of her children (not my third great-grandfather) until she died in 1889. The town grew some, because in her 22 years as a widow train stops, schools and industries came into being. Now, I live so close to Denton County I often visit. It’s a very different place than what my ancestors knew. For one, the city of Dallas, which was a long way away when my ancestors lived there, now extends into the south part of Denton County. In my fourth great-grandparents day, Denton County was dotted with small villages. ...

 In my last blog post, I told you about my personal connection to Texas history through a set of fourth great-grandparents and third great-grandparents who are buried in areas of northeast Texas. (A way from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.) The towns of Gainesville and Bonham, where my third great-grandparents are buried, are so far from DFW they still seem remote to me. Gainesville, where Great-Great-Great-Grandpa Graham rests, is a town of less than 20,000 people about 80 miles north of downtown Dallas and 12 miles from the Oklahoma border. Bonham, where my Great-Great-Great Grandma is buried, is a city of just over 10,000. It’s also about 80 miles from downtown Dallas, but 65 miles east of Gainesville. My fourth great-grandparents are buried in Pilot Point, a city a mere 55 miles from downtown Dallas. It’s even closer to my home in Richardson, Texas. Pilot Point is still too far north to be considered part of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. It’s also still a very small town, w...

  My fourth great-grandparents, James and Mary Graham, are buried in the Skinner Cemetery. My great-great-great-great-grandfather is the elder of the two James Grahams mentioned on this plaque. My great-great-great-grandparents on this side are buried elsewhere in Texas,  but my great-great-grandparents on this side (as well as two other great-great-grandfathers), my great-grandparents (all eight of them) and grandparents (all four of them) are buried in California. My parents and brother live and were born in California. I also lived in California for 57 of my 60 years.  History fascinates us. I speak for myself and my husband Don. I know many others don’t have the same fascination we do with discovering how people lived in the past. For almost seven years, I’ve been especially fascinated with American history from the mid-19 th century to the early 20 th century. Until recently, my primary focus had been Central California. That is the northern portion of the San Jo...