DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the way the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna pass it right along to you. Way back before Dallas was Dallas in any real sense, this land was part of a Republic land grant — awarded to a pioneer by the name of William Grigsby. That's where the story starts, out here on what would become some of the most visited ground in the whole city.
Fast-forward to 1903, and the Dallas Consolidated Electric Street Railway Company comes along, buys up twenty acres of the property, and — working alongside developers Oliver P. Bowser and William H. Lemmon — builds Oak Lawn Park.
Now here's a detail I love: weekend visitors and prospective land buyers paid five cents to ride the streetcar out to this park. Five cents. And for that nickel, you got a variety of recreational activities and, if the developers had their way, maybe you'd like this land enough to buy some of it.
It wasn't a bad scheme. The City of Dallas liked the place well enough themselves — they purchased the park, native trees and all, in 1909. Then comes 1928, and the Dallas Southern Memorial Association starts making plans.
Big plans. They want a statue of Robert E. Lee standing in this park.
They commission a Canadian sculptor by the name of A. Phimister Proctor to execute it in bronze. And when it was finally ready — June 12, 1936 — it was none other than President Franklin D.
Roosevelt who unveiled it. At that point, the park's name was changed to Robert E. Lee Park.
And they weren't done yet. Two years later, through a cooperative effort between the DSMA, the Park and Recreation Board, and the Federal Works Progress Administration, a two-thirds scale replica of Arlington Hall was constructed right here — Robert E. Lee's home in Virginia, the very place that is now part of Arlington National Cemetery.
One park, one nickel streetcar ride, a Republic land grant, a bronze statue, and a replica of a Virginia landmark sitting in the middle of Dallas. Throughout all of it, this park has been what it always was — a place of recreation and relaxation for the people of Dallas. And by all accounts, it still is.
What the marker says
The land in this area was once part of a Republic land grant awarded to pioneer William Grigsby. The Dallas Consolidated Electric Street Railway Company bought twenty acres of the property in 1903, and in cooperation with developers Oliver P. Bowser and William H. Lemmon built Oak Lawn Park. Weekend visitors and prospective land buyers paid five cents to ride the streetcar to the park, which offered a variety of recreational activities. The City of Dallas purchased the park with its native trees in 1909. In 1928, the Dallas Southern Memorial Association (DSMA) began plans for the placement of a statue of Robert E. Lee in the park. Executed by Canadian sculptor A. Phimister Proctor, the bronze statue was unveiled on June 12, 1936, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The park's name was changed to Robert E. Lee Park, and two years later, in a cooperative effort by the DSMA, Park and Recreation Board, and the Federal Works Progress Administration, a two-thirds scale replica of Arlington Hall, Robert E. Lee's home in Virginia (now a part of Arlington National Cemetery) was constructed. Throughout its history, this park has provided a place of recreation and relaxation for Dallas citizens. It remains one of the city's most popular attractions.