Grapevine
Grapevine, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Wild mustang grapes growing profusely in this area inspired the name "Grapevine" for this community. Ambrose Foster (1794?-1847) and his wife Susannah Medlin (1796-1876) were among the first settlers in 1845, from Platte County, Missouri. The Fosters, their daughters and sons-in-law acquired land that became the heart of Grapevine. Within the first year worship services and school classes were conducted. Cattle raising was the major enterprise prior to the Civil War. Beef cattle were sold to Camp Worth (present Fort Worth) by Archibald Leonard, Fosters' son-in-law, who owned a mercantile store. In 1858 a Federal Post Office was established and run by Solon Dunn. During the 1870s the village was also known as "Dunnville". In 1914 the name became "Grapevine". After the Cotton Belt Railroad line opened in 1888, the town thrived as a shipping center for cotton, grain, truck crops and dairy products. In 1907 Grapevine incorporated. By 1934 two major paved roads leading to Dallas and Fort Worth were constructed. A dam built in 1942 on Denton Creek formed Lake Grapevine. It serves as a water supply, flood control measure, and a recreational area. In 1974 the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport opened within the city limits. (1979)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for the wild mustang grapes that grew thick across the area, Grapevine took shape after Ambrose and Susannah Foster arrived from Missouri in 1845 and their family gathered land at the community's heart. Cattle raising dominated before the Civil War, with beef driven to nearby Camp Worth, and the arrival of the Cotton Belt Railroad in 1888 turned the town into a shipping hub for cotton, grain and dairy. Over the following century it absorbed a lake, paved highways, and eventually the sprawling Dallas–Fort Worth Airport within its limits.
Why it matters
Grapevine's arc from grape-covered prairie to airport gateway compresses the whole story of North Texas settlement, railroading, and modern metropolitan growth into one place.
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Related people
- · Ambrose Foster
- · Susannah Medlin Foster
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Nash Farm
Grapevine, TX
Established in 1859 by Kentucky migrants Thomas Jefferson Nash and his wife Elizabeth, this 450-acre farm is one of the last surviving nineteenth-century agrarian sites in North Texas. During the Civil War the Nash brothers left to serve with Confederate troops while Elizabeth and the children kept the farm; all returned to expand their holdings. The 1869 I-house, a crib barn, cistern, and family cemetery still stand, and in 1888 the Nashes gave right-of-way to the Cotton Belt Railroad that spurred the region's growth.
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