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Business, Politics and Boosterism in Dallas, Texas

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Business, Politics and Boosterism in Dallas, Texas THE GROWTH OF A CITY: BUSINESS, POLITICS AND BOOSTERISM IN DALLAS, TEXAS, 187 2-1914 by BARNEY RANDOLPH MCDONALD, B.A. A THESIS IN HISTORY Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved AcceptecJ Dean of the GraduaBrew' s cho/^1 December, 1979 ^O'^yi CL/!!)V ^ ""^ PREFACE Dallas, Texas rose from a rough frontier town to become the dominant city of North Texas by the begin­ ning of the twentieth century. This was due, in large part, to the efforts of city boosters, people who came to Dallas hoping to make it grow along with their per­ sonal fortunes. Dallas boosters resembled those of other young American cities. Boosters in the North Texas city worked to obtain transportation facilities, advertised a fertile agricultural region and claimed a favorable climate as did boosters in other American cities such as Chicago, Denver, and Cincinnati. The young cities of the United States had none of the encumberances of old European cities. There were no walls to keep people out; towns in the United States sought to at­ tract people. No class or neighborhood animosities existed in fledgling American cities; time had not yet developed these. However the historical attrac­ tions of the older cities were absent from America's young towns. Booster businessmen sought to replace historical attractions by offering transportation 11 facilities, markets for agricultural products and muni­ cipalities free from Old World jealousies. Dallas, like many successful urban communities, ex­ perienced a spurt of growth from a transportation advance The first railroad in Texas, the Houston and Texas Central, arrived in Dallas in 1872 and the town immedia­ tely grew. As new business arrived with the railroad, population grew, and the demands of the city boosters increased in order to maintain the city's expansion. Dallas did not grow as spectacularly as Chicago, but its story needs to be told so that it may be judged in the context of America's urban history. It is the purpose of this paper to trace Dallas' economy, politics and booster activities between the arrival of its first railroad in 1872 and the acquisi­ tion of its Federal Reserve Bank in 1914. Many topics of importance in American history are mentioned but are mainly to be used as reference for the events discussed in this paper. During the course of this study I have become in­ debted to Dr. Harry A. Jebsen, Jr., and appreciative of his work in the field of American urban history. I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to him for his helpful criticism, advice, encouragement and patience which made possible the completion of this thesis. I wish also to 111 thank Dr. Joseph E. King for his corrections and comments which aided the completed work. I am also indebted to my wife, Denise, for her understanding and encouragement. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THE GROWTH OF DALLAS DURING RECONSTRUCTION 7 III. BOOM AND BUST 19 IV. TURMOIL AND TRIUMPH 4 4 V. THE FIRST FAIR AND THE STATE FAIR 78 VI. CONCLUSION 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY 97 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The growth of Dallas, Texas from a village on the North Texas prairie to a metropolitan center can be part­ ly explained by business booster efforts in the nineteen­ th and early twentieth centuries and the political forces surrounding them. Boosterism by business groups and their political activities stimulated the economic and political development of the city during the early years of its existence. Different civic, political, and economic problems stimulated the growth of booster ef­ forts. The people who participated in these endeavors established Dallas as the dominant city in North Texas by 1914. Dallas began inauspiciously in the 1840's. The area lacked mineral resources. The only real natural resource it had was fertile land. Dallas had no mighty river; it possessed no port or harbour. Navigation of the Trinity River from its mouth at Trinity Bay to Dallas was next to impossible. John Neely Bryan established his settlement of Dallas in 1841 and intended it as a trading post for the Indians of the area. However, in September of 1843, the Republic of Texas concluded a treaty with the Indians to move and remain west of a line drawn from the Red River to the junction of the West fork and Clear fork of the Trinity River, from thence to Comanche Peak in Parker County and thence to the San Saba River. This effec­ tively removed the Indians from the area and shattered Bryan's idea of an Indian trading post. Bryan, realizing that his plan for an Indian trading post had ended, turned to town promotion. He went to the many scattered settlements throughout the North Texas region, trying to convince people to move to his town. Since the climate and soil were equal in most of these settlements, Bryan offered settlers the one advantage his settlement could claim, the best crossing of the Trinity 2 River m the Region. He induced the inhabitants of Bird's Fort, present-day Euless, to move to his settle- 3 ment after they experienced trouble with local Indians. He succeeded in establishing a post office in Dallas, and in having Dallas named a temporary county seat in 18 46 4 and as the permanent county seat in 1850. However, Bryan often exaggerated the size and benefits of his settlement. John William Rogers, The Lusty Texans of Dallas (Nashville: Parthenon Press, 1965), p. 35. 2 Ibid., p. 36. "^Ibid. , p. 31. ^Ibid., pp. 41-42. John William Rogers stated in his book The Lusty Texans of Dallas that, "during the earliest years people seemed always to be arriving who had heard so much about its im­ portance that they were dismayed at what they found." But people did move to Dallas and it grew into a bustling town on the prairie by the 1870's. By 1873 the Houston and Texas Central and the Texas Pacific railroads had arrived in Dallas. That year a depression hit the country and railroad construction in the North Texas area halted. Dallas, due to the depres­ sion, became the western terminus for the Texas Pacific when its construction was halted at Dallas due to lack of funding. Quite importantly this aided Dallas in becoming a major trading center. Thus, the depression which was damaging to other cities and regions may have proved g beneficial to Dallas. By the 18 80's Dallas became established as a trade and transportation center. The increased railway acces­ sibility of Dallas and the booming fortunes of agriculture during the decade caused the economy in Dallas to flour­ ish. However, as Dallas' economy blossomed a contrasting lack of leadership in city government began to develop Ibid., pp. 45-46. Justin F. Kimball, Our City Dallas: Yesterday and Tomorrow (Dallas: Dallas Independent School District, 1953), p. 47. and would plague the city the remainder of the nineteenth century. In the 1890's another depression occurred in the United States and Dallas did not fare as well economical­ ly as it had during the depression of the 1870's. Fiscal retrenchment became the policy of the city council. Many city services were cut. Inactivity and conservatism rul­ ed city officials. To fill the void left by an inactive city council, civic organizations formed to clean up Dallas and to boost the city so that its growth would not be stifled. These efforts proliferated in the first decade of the twentieth century since the city council's caution continued well after the depression was over. By 1907 the citizens of Dallas tired of this weak city coun­ cil and voted for a responsible commission form of city government. However, this reform did not remove the 7 need for private efforts to stimulate Dallas. The early years of the twentieth century saw an in­ creased interest in civic affairs by Dallas businessmen. Dallas had a municipal government comprised of and res­ ponsible to the business community. Business interests The Dallas Morning News, May 6, 1893, p. 2; Philip Lindsley, A History of Greater Dallas and Vicinity (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1909), p. 198; Bradley Rice, Progressive Cities: The Commission Movement in America, 1901-1920 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1977), pp. 1-30. actively promoted Dallas as a convention center. The city's political leaders were active in the Presidential election of 1912. They were early and fervent supporters of Woodrow Wilson for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency. This support and the campaign by business leaders and The Dallas Morning News earned a Federal Re­ serve Bank for Dallas in 1914, and established the city 9 as the financial center for the Southwest. With tremen­ dous effort, Dallas' businessmen and boosters had brought the city out of the depression plagued 1890's to make it a convention center and a banking capital. Dallas popu­ lation had grown from 10,358 in 1880"^^ to 92,104 in 1910. •'"•^ An urban base as a trade, transportation, and financial center had been created. The booster efforts in Dallas from 1872-1914 ful­ filled a number of functions for the city. They brought g The Dallas Morning News, April 22, 1902, p.3; April 23, 1902, p.2; May 20, 1912, pp.1-2. 9 The Dallas Morning News, April 11, 1914, p.l; Sam Acheson, 35, OOP Days in Texas (New York: MacMillan Co., 1938), p. 265. U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office, Statistics of the Population of the United States at the Tenth Census (June 1, 1880), vol.
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