Hardwired

Texas

Nash Farm

Sep 26, 2024 | ,

Farmhouse Thomas Jefferson Nash built in 1869.

Long before Grapevine became the Christmas Capital of Texas, history was being made at Nash Farm. Circa 1859, Thomas Jefferson Nash purchased 110 acres of farmland in Grapevine in North Texas. The farm is the oldest operating farmstead in Tarrant County and includes the original house, a barn, and a family cemetery. 

The Nash family consisted of Thomas, his wife Elizabeth, their six children, and Thomas’s brother William. In 1880, their first home, a log cabin, was replaced by the current two-story structure, and a barn was added in 1905. The Nash family raised cash crops such as corn, wheat, and cotton in addition to subsistence crops. They also raised livestock: cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, oxen, mules, and chickens.

Before the Nash family left the farm, the spread had grown to 450 acres, four times the average size of a farm in North Texas at that time. Part of their land was given as a right of way for the Cotton Belt Railroad, but the majority of the land remained in the Nash family until 1927, when they sold to Carl Yates. The residence changed owners and renters throughout the years until the remaining five-plus acres was purchased by the Grapevine Heritage Foundation in 1997. 

In 2004, a capital campaign raised $800,000 to restore the farm. Four years later, the restoration was complete. The original home is in its original location, but the barn had burned to the ground in 1907. On the grounds is also the small cemetery where two grandsons of Thomas and Elizabeth Nash rest.

In 2010, the farm was listed in the national register of historic places, and in 2014 was recorded as a Texas historic landmark, forever preserving Nash Farm.

So how did the town where the Nash family decided to settle get its name? Because of its location on the Grape Vine Prairie near Grape Vine Springs, both of which were named for the tart, wild Mustang grapes that blanketed the region. It was actually called Grape Vine until 1914, when the post office decided the town’s name should be a single word. 

And yes, Grapevine definitely lives up to its self-proclaimed name of being the Christmas Capital of Texas. Come visit, y’all, and I’m certain you’ll be warmly greeted with a “Howdy!”

 

Sharing is caring!

White’s Chapel 

Aug 22, 2024 | ,

In response to an earlier blog post titled “Texas: Log House,” one in-the-know reader commented that he thought the log house was located on White Chapel and not White’s Chapel. The confusion is understandable. The correct name really is White’s Chapel, but apparently the possessive was too much of a mouthful for some folks. Either that, or when it came to street signs, it was simply easier to drop the apostrophe-s.

A similar mistake occurred in the nearby town of Keller, Texas. In 1850, Daniel Barcroft helped found Mount Gilead Baptist Church. The street on which the church is located was named after Mr. Barcroft. Or was intended to be. In subsequent years the name Barcroft was misspelled as Bancroft and the street is Bancroft Road to this day.

So what’s the full story behind White’s Chapel? Over 150 years ago, settlers came to the area from Rising Fawn, Georgia, to establish a church out west. The group settled in North Texas, and in 1872, the first formal service took place in a newly-built chapel. As the first Methodist church in northeast Tarrant County, this new chapel had traveling preachers known as Circuit Riders. One of the most popular of these early parsons was the Tennessee-born Rev. Lewis M. White. Under his leadership, the new church grew and soon became known by his name. Every week, people showed up at “White’s Chapel.” 

In 1971, the church celebrated its centennial and the State of Texas presented the church with a historical marker. As the population of northeast Tarrant County grew, so did the church congregation. By 1985, the small building could no longer accommodate the needs of the community, so a new sanctuary was built. The first service in the new church, known as Grace Chapel, was held on Easter Sunday in 1988.

 

Sharing is caring!

The Torian Cabin

Jul 25, 2024 | ,

Today I’m exploring the Torian Log Cabin in historic downtown Grapevine, Texas. The house, constructed of hand-hewn logs, was built along a creek in the Cross Timbers region near the pioneer community of Lonesome Dove, a few miles northwest of present-day Grapevine.

The house originally stood on an 1845 land grant settled by Francis Throop, a Peters colonist from Missouri. In 1868, Throop sold to J.C. Wiley who later sold to John R. Torian, a farmer from Kentucky. The Torian family lived in the house from 1886 until the 1940s.

In 1976, the home was threatened with demolition until the Grapevine Historical Society intervened. Working with Grapevine city leaders, the logs of the cabin were numbered, disassembled, moved to its current site in downtown Grapevine, where the house was rebuilt. In 1978, the structure was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark.

The Torian Cabin has since been preserved and maintained by the Grapevine Historical Society and the City of Grapevine. It is located on Main Street across from Grapevine City Hall. Two rooms of the cabin are open for viewing at all hours year-round.

 

Sharing is caring!

Follow by Email

Archives