The Dallas Journal, Volume 42, 1996 Page: 33
130 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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During his visit to Dallas in 1872, R. M. Gano participated in a signal event; the
arrival of the Houston and Texas Central, Dallas' first railroad. As one of the speakers at
the celebration, he shared the platform with such notables as Jefferson Davis and John
Neely Bryan, the founder of Dallas.
When the Gano family moved into Dallas in 1878, the home was sold to John H.
Saunders. His family members owned it until the 1960s. In 1974 the house was
discovered by the Dallas County Heritage Society during the excavation for a runway at
the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. It had changed so over the years that it looked somewhat
like a Victorian house. It was relocated to the Old City Park Restoration, Dallas, Texas,
and restored to its earlier appearance.
The Gano Family
General and Mrs. Gano had twelve children: William B., John T., Clarence W.,
Sam W., Kate M., Fannie, Maurice Dudley, Sidney Johnston (twin), Lee (twin), Emma,
Frank and Mattie.'4
General Richard M. Gano died in Dallas, Texas, on March 27, 1913, the last
surviving Confederate of his own or higher rank. He was 83 years old. He is buried at
Oakland Cemetery, Dallas.5
An interesting note: One of General Gano's granddaughters, Alene Gano, was
married in 1904 to Howard Robard Hughes Sr. Their only child was Howard Hughes,
Jr.16
A Personal Memoir of Old City Park
Old City Park has a special place in my heart. I remember taking the Cub Scout
troop to the park when the swimming pool was still there and Millermore was the only
building on site. The Old City Park offices were housed in the small rock bathhouse
which sat near the swimming pool.
On the day of the field trip with our group of nine-year-old boys, one of the
scouts looked closely at a strange-looking rock laying in the path where we walked. It
was an Indian arrowhead--a treasure for a young lad to find. Over the years many
arrowheads were found in Old City Park. The Indians traveling through this area found
water and shade at Browder Springs. During the days of the Texas Republic, Cherokee
Indians made the springs a camping site.
Browder Springs figured prominently in the location of the railroad tracks
coming through Dallas. In July of 1872, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad
chugged into the frontier city. At that time the roadbed was so new that laborers were
still at work on it when the historic whistle was heard.
A year after the Houston & Texas Central came to Dallas, the Texas & Pacific
began laying tracks into East Texas from Shreveport. The plan was to follow the thirty-
second parallel which meant the tracks would miss Dallas by 50 miles. Town leaders
began to devise a plan. They effectively instructed their representative in the Texas
legislature to add a little-noticed rider to the bill which was to grant state lands to the1996 33 DGS Journal
33
DGS Journal
1996
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Dallas Genealogical Society. The Dallas Journal, Volume 42, 1996, periodical, December 1996; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth186855/m1/39/: accessed May 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.