Genealogy and Local History Blog

Category: Local History

Genealogy / Local History

History of the Grapevine Scholastic (School) Census, 1901-1970

Genealogists are well-versed in the use of federal census records to identify and document their ancestors, but did you know that school districts also made headcounts of their students? This blog is about the history of scholastic census taking in Grapevine. HISTORY OF THE SCHOLASTIC CENSUS IN TEXAS Scholastic census records document the counting of school age children by counties and districts so the state could apportion funds for their education. The first census of Texas school-age children was mandated by an act passed by the Fifth Texas Legislature, Regular Session, on 31 January 1854. From 1854-1905, annual censuses of school children were conducted in each county by its county tax assessor’s office. The law required that a list of the free white population between the age of six and eighteen years be made each year in every county. The age was lowered to six and sixteen in 1870. In...

Local History

History of Grapevine Public Library, 2002-2022

In 2002, Grapevine’s population reached 42,827. Since the grand opening of the expanded library in November 2001, more Grapevine citizens applied for library cards and visited the library to take advantage of the many new services a larger library was able to provide. The Children’s Department created My First Storytime, a one-on-one lap-sit program for babies from birth to eighteen months and their caregivers, began that year. By 2003 the number of residents increased to 43,049. In March the library celebrated its eightieth anniversary with an open house. Final withdrawal of materials purchased by Colleyville for Colleyville and housed at Grapevine were made, since Colleyville would open its own library in November. In January 2004, the library received a sixteen-thousand-dollar grant from Verizon to expand its English as a Second Language (ESL) program. In May the library installed a new color copier. In August, Dick Clark, long-time host of the...

Genealogy / Local History

Link Old Maps and Land Records to Your Genealogy with HistoryGeo

Do you have ancestors who purchased land straight from the federal government? If so, our HistoryGeo database is a must-use! Brought to you by Arphax Publishing Co., HistoryGeo.com is a family history software service for linking old maps and land records to your genealogy research. It contains three collections – First Landowners Project, Antique Maps Collection, and Place-Finder + Topographical Maps. In this blog, we’ll examine the First Landowners Project, but first, to get the most out of HistoryGeo, a brief explanation of federal/public land history is in order. After the Revolutionary War, the new national government had no money but lots of land. To encourage orderly westward settlement and to raise revenue, Congress developed the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), or Rectangular Survey System (RSS), to precisely divide lands beyond the original thirteen colonies (as well as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas), and offer them for sale through federal land...

Local History

History of Grapevine Public Library, 1991-2001

Grapevine’s population grew to 31,836 in 1991. Library material holdings grew to 92,797 and annual circulation to 357,855. In February, Mrs. Marie Canning started part-time in Circulation. She eventually became full-time Acquisitions Assistant. In April, Grapevine Public Library’s automation system was upgraded from OCR labels and wands to bar code labels and laser guns. The re-labeling of over sixty thousand library materials and preparation of 30,000 borrower cards was accomplished in sixteen weeks with the help of eighty valued volunteers without closing the library. The Friends of the Library donated a Xerox plain-paper fax/copier, a Magazine Article Summaries (MAS) CD-ROM index to replace InfoTrac, and a plain-paper Minolta RP 605Z microfilm reader/printer from the proceeds of the annual Christmas ornament sale. Skaggs Alpha Beta cash register receipts worth two-hundred seventy-three thousand dollars collected by the public enabled the purchase of a MacIntosh computer and software. Due to community support and...

Local History

History of Grapevine Public Library from 1971-1990

The 1970 census counted 7,023 individuals in Grapevine. The current library quarters were becoming too cramped, so City Council considered the feasibility of purchasing the old First National Bank building for a City Library and architects’ drawings of the building showing conversion to a library were reviewed. Further discussion was delayed pending additional studies. In November 1971, a motion was made in Council to authorize the City Manager to get plans drawn on a building for the library. On November 16, Council instructed the City Manager to proceed with library plans by architect Oliver Tucker. In February 1972, Mr. Tucker presented plans for the proposed library building to Council. A motion was made to accept bids on March 7. The new library was to be built north of the Police Department building. All bids for a new library building were rejected for being too high. In April, Mr. Tucker discussed...

Tarrant County Bookmobile

Local History

History of Grapevine Public Library 1951-1970

This week we continue the history of Grapevine Public Library from 1951 to 1970. By 1951, Grapevine’s population had grown to 1,850. Mrs. Gertie Hurst had been the librarian for ten years. In October, the Tuesday Study Club began sponsoring a story telling hour for preschoolers at the library each month with stories, songs, games, and refreshments. These events proved quite popular; the average attendance was 15 children. Mrs. Hurst also started the Memorial Fund, which contained about fifty dollars. A desk, the first piece of furniture, was donated by the Fort Worth Public Library. At the Texas Library Association convention in 1954, Tarrant County was recognized as being among one of the top county libraries in Texas. The county bookmobile had been visiting Grapevine on the first Monday of each month. “The real work of the bookmobile is in our rural schools,” the Grapevine Sun reported in April, “where...

Grapevine Public Library

Local History

History of Grapevine Public Library from 1923-1950

The Grapevine Public Library has been a vital part of the City of Grapevine for almost one hundred years. Today’s blog begins a history of the Library from its inception to 1950. On January 10, 1921, Dr. Henry Kirby Taylor, head of the Sociology Department of Texas Woman’s College (later Texas Wesleyan University), and Henry McClellan Means, Tarrant County agricultural agent, created and brought forth the ability to establish cultural contact with rural Tarrant County through a traveling library, movie projector, graphophone or Victrola (later known as a record player), and Delco lighting system. The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce gave one thousand five hundred dollars for a motor truck and library fitted into equipment built for rough riding over country roads. This project became known as the Tarrant County Community Library and Entertainment Cycle, and was directly supported by the communities it served. Dr. Taylor and Means were able...