Denton County - a contrast between old and new
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. Lewisville and Pilot Point were among those settled
by the time my ancestors arrived. Others were Pinckneyville and Alton. No trace
of Pinckneyville exists. There is an Alton in Texas but it’s a town on the
Mexico border established in the early 20th century. The one in
Denton County now only exists as Old Alton Road, and a bridge by the same name.
The road now connects the south end of the City of Denton to the much more
recently established community south of there known as Lantana. (Plotted in
1999.)
Denton, which was plotted in 1866, is rapidly approaching a
population of 150,000 in 2022. The small historic villages I mentioned above
were the first and second county seats. Denton was built later because the
people of Denton County wanted it more centrally located than Alton was.
In my brief time in Texas, I have seen two sides of Denton
County. I have seen more of the east side of this county than the west but have
traveled a few times to the City of Denton, nearly in the middle.
In southeast Denton County, primarily Lewisville, Flower
Mound and The Colony, you will mostly find trendy suburbs and affordable
housing for people who work in Dallas. West of there are newly established
towns such as Lantana and Double Oak, maintaining a rural atmosphere with very
large, very new county-style homes on very large lots.
In the north end of Denton County, you typically will find
towns that existed in my ancestors’ day, and have grown some, but are still
small towns. Pilot Point, which in 2022 still has a population under 5,000 is
one example. Others are Aubrey and Sanger.
Pilot Point is a friendly small town where on our two
visits, the people bent over backwards to give us what we needed. We’ve met
people from Sanger who tell us the same is true of there. Aubrey, we have only
driven through. But it’s smaller than either Pilot Point or Sanger, so it no
doubt has the same small-town charm.
So now, I would like to tell you of some places I have
visited and hope to see again in the southeast part of the county. In future
blog posts, I’ll tell you of places I either have visited or would like to
visit in Denton and the north part of Denton County.
My recommendations for southeast Denton County:
Me Lisa the Pie Lady
We weren’t disappointed. MeLisa
makes a variety of pies. All that I have sampled have a tender, buttery crust
although I believe some like the key lime pie my husband had on our more recent
trip have graham cracker crusts. Her Oreo crème pie, not surprisingly, has an
Oreo crust.
Another advantage of this place is that
instead of pie by the slice, they sell miniature pies. So, for the price most
places would charge for just a slice, you can have an entire 4” round pie. Or
you can split your pie with another and still feel like you had enough.
MeLisa, the Pie Lady, 3805 Main
Street, #107, The Colony.
Shopping in Lewisville
I’m
going to give you two of my favorite locations, both on the southbound Stemmons
Road (Interstate 35E frontage road) at Round Grove Road. The Music City Mall is
south of Round Grove and the Vista Ridge Village is north of Grove Road.
The Vista Ridge Village is a
“strip” type mall with a large parking lot in between a horseshoe or circle of
businesses. Some fast-food restaurants are in front, facing Round Grove. Most
of the businesses are more closely clustered together in a horseshoe behind
them.
I love this shopping center because
it’s a crafter’s dream. Hobby Lobby, Michael’s and Joann’s all have stores in
this center. Although I would like to tell you of an independent craft store,
the only one I know is a bit further north and east, in the Collin County city
of Allen. And as much as I used to love and support local scrapbook stores when
I first got into this hobby, today it’s usually easier to find what you need at
any one of these big craft stores, all located in Vista Ridge Village in
Lewisville. (Although, to be honest, if I’m making a run for craft supplies
from home, I’ll more likely go to one of their stores in Plano. In Plano, they
are at three different locations but all three of them are considerably closer.
It’s just when I’m in Denton County anyhow that I enjoy having all three in one
place.
A few other stores I love in Vista
Ridge Village are Barnes and Noble, Total Wine and Tuesday Morning. Barnes and
Noble, you probably know, is a bookstore chain. This one is a mid-sized store
and does have a café.
You may also be familiar with
Tuesday Morning, as it’s a nationwide chain. It offers discounted items. I first
would shop Tuesday Morning for craft supplies, but these days your best finds
there will be home décor and kitchen items. My most recent Tuesday Morning
purchase (although at a Dallas location) was a nice loaf pan for $8.
Total Wine, although also a large
national chain store, is one I wasn’t familiar with until we moved to Texas.
Probably because when I lived there, the nearest one was more than 15 miles
away. Not to mention, a great selection California wines can easily be found in
California stores.
Here in Texas, the nearest Total
Wine is less than five miles away. A second one is about 12 miles away. My
husband and I had already discovered Specs’ Liquor Store before learning about
Total Wine. Our favorite Specs’, about
seven miles down the 75 (my usual way of referring to freeways is by their
number only), is one of that company’s largest. So, it has a fine selection of
wine, beer, spirits and even delicatessen favorites.
But recently, my husband and I
wanted a wine Specs’ didn’t have. When I saw the one in the Vista Ridge
Village, I decided to go in and look. They didn’t have it either, but I would
say that store’s wine selection was as good as the Specs down in Dallas. They
also are blessed with a knowledgeable wine steward who lived in California for
a while. So if I do need to find something special, I may be back to that Total
Wine.
Vista Ridge Village: 2325 S.
Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville, Texas
Music City Mall
I personally prefer the above strip
mall to the enclosed Music City Mall. However, I am including it as a favorite
because of its Dillard’s Department Store. This one is a discount store,
meaning it will attempt to sell clothes the other Dillard’s, even outside of
Texas, weren’t able to sell. And that means when I visited a few days after
Christmas, I scored!
My husband had mentioned to me the
day after Christmas he loved a red dress I used to wear back when we first met
in 1990. I know I had purchased the dress in the early 1980s. While I did love
it back in the 80s, I had not had this dress for a very long time. But he
wondered if I could find something similar. And so, I went on a mission.
We first visited the Dillard’s and
the Macy’s in another DFW-area shopping center. (Firewheel in Garland.) None of
them had dresses that closely resembled my old red one. The dresses they had
were around $60 to $100. Some boutiques in that mall had even more expensive
dresses.
But when we decided to look in the
Music City Mall, we found that Dillard’s had quite a few more dresses than the
other one. This included one that wasn’t exactly like the one I bought nearly
40 years ago but was way closer in style than the other new ones. And it was
only $20! I therefore am going to look up that Dillard’s when I want some more
new clothes. But I will definitely be stopping at the stores across the street.
Music City Mall: 2401 S.
Stemmons Freeway, Lewisville, Texas
Grandscape
I’m
including this mall not because I feel the need to shop at its stores and
restaurants, but because
it’s a higher end mall than the ones I mentioned above. Therefore, it’s a good destination for those who are either
vacationing in nearby areas such as Grapevine or Lake Lewisville, and for Denton County residents who are
somewhat affluent. The shops and restaurants
in this open-air mall are not national chains. However, some are small chains offering shopping opportunities
elsewhere in the DFW area. For instance, one store I would love to indulge in is the White Rock Soap
Gallery. That store takes its name from its original location near White Rock Lake in Dallas.
Grandscape:
5752 Grandscape Blvd., The Colony
Although
it’s not technically part of Grandscape, another place to visit (if you live in
the DFW area) is the adjacent
Nebraska Furniture Mart. This is a chain, and of course, started out in Omaha, Nebraska. I didn’t discover this
place until eight months after we moved to Texas. By then we had made a significant investment in new furniture
and home goods. But it’s worth a visit
from anywhere in the DFW area. It is two floors of furniture showrooms, each
the size of many indoor malls. You even
could take a break from furniture shopping in the food court area near the main entrance of the first floor.
Nebraska
Furniture Mart: 5600 Nebraska Furniture Mart Drive, The Colony
Whatever
you need or want to shop for, you’re sure to find it in southeast Denton
County. And don’t forget to have
some pie a MeLisa The Pie Lady while you’re there!
Comments
Post a Comment