Going Local: Local History in the Grapevine Public Library

In today’s blog, we’ll look at the different local history resources the Grapevine Public Library has available for research. Local history materials are in the Frances Pittman Malcolm Genealogy Room and the Grapevine Area History Room. The Library has a robust genealogy collection, as well as a significant collection of materials on the history of Grapevine and the surrounding areas. Grapevine is one of the oldest communities in Tarrant County, first settled on the Grape Vine Prairie in 1844 by a group known as the Missouri Colony. The settlement encompassed the present city of Southlake, known for decades as “the area west of Grapevine” until 1956, when Southlake was incorporated.

Books

In 1979, the Grapevine Historical Society published the book Grapevine Area History, edited by Charles H. Young (Fig.1). It is comprised primarily of family histories, many of whom are descendants of the earliest families, but includes valuable information on Grapevine’s early history, its churches, schools, businesses, surrounding communities, culture, memories of pioneer living, miscellaneous historical stories, and numerous photos of people, places, and structures. You’ll find things like: a pre-1906 photo of the Grapevine College girls’ basketball team; histories of Grapevine-area schools; a history of medicine; the story of the Cantaloupe Festival; brief histories of local cemeteries; and how the Torian Cabin on Main St., across from City Hall, arrived at its current location. The book has an every-name index.

Grapevine’s Most Unforgettable Characters was published by the Grapevine Historical Society in 2006 (Fig. 2). It’s a collection of entertaining stories that presents and records the City’s history through vignettes of people long respected in Grapevine. Conveying its rich heritage, the book provides very personal reminiscences of some of Grapevine’s oldest residents about the people, events, and places they knew, as well as of those who came later. The book contains twelve colorfully titled chapters that weave a tapestry of characters. It, too, contains myriad photos.

A small book but full of images accompanied by explanatory text, Images of America: Grapevine was also prepared by the Grapevine Historical Society, along with Joe Ann Standlee and Margaret Rains Harper, and was published in 2010 (Fig. 3). Its eight chapters provide current and historical information on several subjects: An early-to-modern history; the development of Main Street as a business center; historic preservation; historic homes; development of community through schools, churches, the library, police and fire, and senior activities; recreation and open spaces; hospitality; and local celebrations.

How Grapevine streets received their names is the subject of Grapevine, Texas: The Stories Behind Our City Streets, by John W. Boyd (Fig. 4). Published in 2016, it’s a compilation of the author’s attempts to “tell the story of Grapevine as told by its street signs through years of research, interviews, and . . . spending . . . time in cemeteries.” When the book was published, Grapevine had over six hundred streets; eighty of them are named for people.

Cemeteries of Northeast Tarrant County, Texas, compiled by Evelyn D’Arcy Cushman and published in 1981, contains information on cemeteries in and around Grapevine (Fig. 5). It is arranged alphabetically by cemetery and includes a brief history of each cemetery, its location, and its condition at the time. Listings include the person’s name and dates as shown on the gravestone, and are arranged in the order in which copyists canvassed the cemetery. It occasionally indicates burials in certain cemeteries for which no stones existed at the time, as well as information on some “lost” cemeteries where gravestones no longer exist and exact burial sites are unknown. The book also has an every-name index in the back.

In 2020, James Lawrence (Larry) Groebe, media historian and member of the Grapevine Historical Society, published a detailed one-hundred-year history of moviegoing at Grapevine’s Palace Theatre. Replete with photos and images, the book documents the ups, downs, and resurgence of the Palace as a venue for local moviegoers (Fig. 6).

In 2008, Sandra Tate and Margaret Wood compiled a study of Grapevine’s Bay View Club and its 143 members, entitled “The Women of Bay View: Bay View Club, 1908-2008 (Fig. 7).” It is a biographical history of a literary club established in Grapevine on September 8, 1908 by two sisters, Hattie O’Neal and Margaret Keene. Members first met weekly or every two weeks, and were connected through familial, social, educational, religious, and business ties. It emphasized education, culture, and the arts. The club also helped with civic projects and social events.

Memoirs

“Grapevine Recollections” by Weechie Yates Estill is a valuable typescript resource depicting the lives of Grapevine’s earliest residents, many of whom are Mr. and Mrs. Estill’s ancestors and family members. The book was intended “to bring to mind the lives of these early people who lived around Grapevine,” the hardships they endured, and the faith that strengthened them (Fig. 8).

“Life on the Grapevine Prairie: Memoirs of Calvin Price Dorman” is Mr. Dorman’s colorful recollections at age eighty-two about life in Grapevine during the 1920s and 1930s (Fig. 9).

Newspapers

The longest-running newspaper in Grapevine was The Grapevine Sun, established in November 1895 by Benjamin Richard (B. R.) Wall, and ceased publication in April 2009 (Fig. 10). The Library has all extant issues of the Sun on microfilm, as well as a few issues of an 1880s newspaper, The Grapevine Telephone. These papers are available digitally at NewspaperArchive.com, one of the Library’s subscription databases. They can also be accessed remotely with a Grapevine Library card.

Yearbooks

The Library’s school yearbook collection comprises mainly Grapevine High School yearbooks (“The Mustang,” Fig. 11). For several decades, these yearbooks included all school grades until separate schools were built. There are a few elementary and middle school yearbooks. All of these are available for viewing in-person.

Oral History Interviews

In 1982, a series of twenty-four interviews was conducted to preserve notable Grapevine citizens’ recollections of Grapevine as they lived it (Fig. 12). They were recorded on cassettes, included typewritten transcriptions, and are available for checkout for those with access to a cassette tape recorder. They are also available digitally at the Portal to Texas History, along with later interviews with other residents recorded on videotape.

Vertical File

The local history vertical file contains two large file drawers of indexed ephemera (clippings, photocopies, typescripts, etc.) relating to Grapevine history (Fig. 13). They are kept in file folders and arranged alphabetically by subject. Contents include copies of proofs submitted to mark historical sites and homes; histories of local churches; history of Lake Grapevine, information relating to African American history in Grapevine; history of Grapevine schools; and much more. An index to these files is in the first file folder.

Special Collections

The Library is currently processing two special collections. One contains original and transcribed correspondence between Grapevine Mayor B. R. Wall and residents of Pitcairn Island, a remote hideout in the South Pacific Ocean settled in the 1790s by mutineers from the HMS Bounty, along with Tahitian men and women (Fig. 14).

Many libraries maintain local history files for their geographic areas, and you may find materials related to the people and history of that community, county, or even region. The library may also partner with the local genealogical and/or historical society to provide resources. If you’re visiting an area where your ancestors lived, be sure to check out the local library while you’re there. Who knows what you might find.