Penn Springs

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Penn Springs, and it's one worth hearing. Way out in what's now Dallas County, there's a spot where the land did something generous: it offered up two springs, side by side, forming a natural pool right there in the earth. Before roads, before fences, before any of the things we take for granted, that pool was a landmark.

Indians knew it. Pioneer settlers knew it. Wagon trains rolling along the Shawnee Trail knew it.

Cattle drives knew it. When you're crossing open country and you're thirsty, and your oxen are thirsty, and your cattle are thirsty, a spring isn't just a convenience. It's a reason to stop.

Maybe a reason to stay. A man by the name of Major John Penn of Illinois came through and saw this place in 1848. Now, he didn't stay right then, but he remembered it.

You don't forget a spot like that. And sometime in the 1850s, his family came back and settled the land. That's the kind of place it was: the sort that calls you back.

The Penn family put down roots there and held onto the property all the way until 1895. But my favorite detail on this whole marker? July the Fourth, 1882.

Independence Day. Penn Springs became the gathering place for a Confederate reunion of Parson's Texas Cavalry. Old soldiers, old stories, that same cool water that had been welcoming travelers for decades.

Penn Springs has kept on mattering to this part of Texas; the marker says it's played an important role in the development of Duncanville right on up through the years. Some places just have that in them. From the first wagon wheel that rolled to its edge to the families and cavalry men who followed, Penn Springs earned its place in the story of this land.

What the marker says

This area was an important early campsite and watering spot for Indians and pioneer settlers. Two springs formed a natural pool which served as a landmark for wagon trains and cattle drives on the Shawnee Trail. In the 1850s the site was settled by the family of Maj. John Penn of Illinois, who had first visited here in 1848. On July 4, 1882, Penn Springs was the scene of a Confederate reunion of Parson's Texas Cavalry. Owned by Penn Family members until 1895, the springs have continued to play an important role in the development of Duncanville.