It’s been 122 years since Oak Cliff’s annexation by the City of Dallas.
Our neighborhood has a storied history, with one of the most notable events being the capture of Lee Harvey Oswald in the Texas Theatre on Nov. 22, 1963.
Oak Cliff is a versatile Dallas neighborhood. From a freedman’s town tucked away on Tenth Street to being a resort destination during the Gilded Age, Oak Cliff has had a collection of identities since its beginning.
Early beginnings
Don Raines, a senior planner for the City of Dallas, is well-versed in the tales and history of our neighborhood. He says when he thinks of early settlers, he goes back to the Native Americans.
“People don’t understand the Caddo nation, how strong it was, how much of an influence it was,” Raines says. “The Comanche are completely different people. Completely different outlook on life. So the characterizations of the two completely opposite Native Americans really kind of shaped what Dallas and Fort Worth are today.”
William and Mary Hord came to Oak Cliff in 1845 and established Hord’s Ridge. The 640 acres — across the river from John Neely Bryan’s cabin and set roughly where the Dallas Zoo is now — rested in front of a “ridge” of sorts.
Another notable settler, William Brown Miller, moved to what is now the eastern Oak Cliff area in 1847. Miller built a plantation and became one of the largest slave owners in Texas.
The person who named Oak Cliff was Thomas Marsalis.
“He just couldn’t fathom calling it Hord’s Ridge,” Raines says. “Hord’s Ridge tried to be the county seat of Dallas. He just had to change the name. It just did not sound like to him a place that people are going to flock to.”
Marsalis came from New York City and was one of the biggest influences on Oak Cliff.
“Thomas Marsalis brought the first steam railroad into this area, down across the bridge, and what we know is Jefferson Boulevard, and he just had such a strong vision,” Raines says. “He came from New York City, so he understood how New York City was. He looked at this side of the river as being like Brooklyn, and he actually even called it the Brooklyn of the Southwest.”
Marsalis attracted wealthy people who wanted a little more home life, Raines says.
“What I like about Marsalis’ story is his character was to have a respite from Dallas,” Raines says. “It was to have a place that was fun for families, a place that had recreation in mind. As Dallas was growing, there was not much recreation to speak of. I think, for Oak Cliff, the story of most of our area here, it’s the story of sheer will. The land grants were great. People came here, this side of the river, and basically did what they thought they could do.”
After the Civil War, flourishing freedman’s towns developed in the areas bound by the Trinity River to the north, Fleming Street to the west, Compton Street to the south and the Trinity Heights streetcar line to the east. One of the only remaining intact freedman’s towns in the country is the Tenth Street Historic District.
Situated in the eastern vicinity of Oak Cliff, the prosperous community emerged. By 1900, almost a sixth of the town’s population was made up of 500 Black residents. Because of segregation, Tenth Street became a hub for African American heritage.
Despite being named a historic district in 1993, the most well-preserved freedman’s town in the country is an endangered preservation site. After years of neglect, Dallas City Council members have begun taking action again to preserve the historical district for generations to come.
Annexation
Oak Cliff was once separate from Dallas. Marsalis got the land, but it wouldn’t be incorporated into a town until 1891. Then, the 1893 recession hit, and because of the economy, people voted for it to be part of Dallas in 1903 only by less than 40 votes or so, Raines says.
“It wasn’t like they were resisting being part of Dallas. It’s just that the economy was so bad at the time,” Raines says. “One of the big dilemmas was Oak Cliff had street names that had the same street names that Dallas had. A lot of streets had to change their names. That was kind of tough on the identity of Oak Cliff.”
The annexation of Oak Cliff was a significant event, marking the beginning of its history as part of the larger Dallas domain. Despite the annexation, Oak Cliff has retained a distinct identity as one of Dallas’ oldest established neighborhoods.
In 1908, flooding caused the Trinity River to rise over 50 feet, which led to devastation throughout Oak Cliff. These issues continued into the future.
“So people lived here and worked in Dallas, and then the flood happened, and every bridge went down, except for the streetcar bridge,” Raines says. “For four years, it was a burden to get across the river to go to work. You had to grab a ferry. You couldn’t just horse and buggy across because the bridges were out. It was a burden for Oak Cliff.”
After this, Oak Cliff had to slowly reinvent itself.
“It always kept its identity, even when it joined Dallas,” Raines says. “It didn’t give up the name. It always wanted to be Oak Cliff and always was the Brooklyn of the Southwest.”
Baseball is an important piece of Oak Cliff history as well as the first time the sport was integrated in the South was in Oak Cliff in 1952. Prior to that year starting in the 1890s, players were segregated into two different leagues for white and Black players.
Oak Cliff had a reputation of being a place to go watch sports, and baseball was one thing that brought people together.
In 1990, claiming misallocation of resources, the Greater Oak Cliff Citizens’ Council proposed the disannexation of Oak Cliff from the City of Dallas. The organization argued that by becoming an independent municipal entity, the residents of Oak Cliff would receive more of the services they felt the City of Dallas had denied them. Following public discussion and study, the Greater Oak Cliff Citizens’ Council did not pursue the matter further.
