The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 102, July 1998 - April, 1999 Page: 404

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

torical marker texts, lists of names and other tertiary accounts of events that
occurred during the period under investigation.
Mrs. Stroud properly decribes this vast area as "The Mother County of Texas."
In a chapter under this title she notes that "Out of the originally and irregularly
recognized area of Red River County thirty-nine counties . . . owe their exis-
tence" (p. 75).
Of the origins of the primitive Red River County she also notes that "Anglos
were established here on the shores of the plasma-colored river a decade or so
before Stephen F. Austin's colony was implanted in this province" (p. 76).
Comments above about what "might have been" are not intended to disparage
the interest and efforts of local historians to record their heritage. Without them
and their findings, much of the fabric that seasoned historians weave from such
raw material would be lost to future generations.
Nevertheless, one still can hope for the kind of historical treatment deserved
by what can be thought of as a state within a state, an individualistic "province"
larger than some of the other states that make up our union.
That said, there undoubtedly is a market in Northeast Texas for this attempt
at historiography.
Marshall and Fort Worth MAX S. LALE
Dallas: A Hzstory of "Big D. " By Michael V. Hazel (Austin: Texas State Historical
Association, 1997. Pp. v+73. Illustrations, conclusion, notes, about the author.
ISBN o-87611-163-0. $7.95, paper).
Books about the city of Dallas would fill a respectable bookcase. Accurate,
well-written books examining the history of Dallas would hardly fill one shelf.
With Dallas: A History of "Big D" Michael V. Hazel has produced a volume that
belongs on the single shelf. Readers unfamiliar with Dallas will find a straightfor-
ward account of the events and people that shaped the community. More knowl-
edgeable readers will appreciate the concise handling of a formidable topic. It is
the latest in the Fred Rider Cotten Popular History Series published by the
Texas State Historical Association.
Working within the constraints of a small book format, Hazel takes us from
1841 and the beginnings of Dallas through the mid-199os with a smooth narra-
tive flow. He examines the factors that helped Dallas grow, from natural
resources, climate and legislative legerdemain in the nineteenth century to far-
sighted and strong-willed businessmen and geographic centrality for air trans-
portation in the twentieth. While doing this, he lays to rest the myth that "Dallas
is an 'accidental' city, one with no obvious reason for being" (p. 64).
The people who helped create Dallas become more than street names (Bryan,
Caruth, Webb's Chapel) as their part in the growth of Dallas is described.
Interwoven with them is the significance of the arrival of the railroads, the State
Fair, terminus merchants and immigrants. The Progressive Era reforms which
helped transform the city after the turn of the century come alive with the

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 102, July 1998 - April, 1999, periodical, 1999; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101219/m1/461/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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