Travis College Hill Addition
Garland, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Between 1910 and 1920, the population of Garland increased from about 800 to more than 1,400. Accompanying the growth of the town was a plan by the Eastern Texas Traction Company to build an interurban electric trolley line. The route, connecting Dallas to Greenville, would have run along Mewshaw Avenue (later Avenue D), as the southern border of the Travis College Hill Addition, which was platted in 1913. The neighborhood was created as an addition to the interurban line developments, in part, to attract commerce and population near the line. The 73-acre property belonged to Garland pioneers Richard and Sallie (Walker) Wyatt. Developer R.O. Travis worked with Richard Wyatt to oversee the establishment of the addition through the Interurban Land Company. The neighborhood adjoined Garland College, giving the residential addition the name of Interurban Land Company's Travis College Hill. Large lots and proximity to the proposed trolley line helped attract businesses and homeowners. At the center of the addition was the Garland Avenue Thoroughfare, now South 11th Street. The interurban line was cancelled due to the bankruptcy of the Eastern Texas Traction Company, and the chance to renew the project was lost with the coming of World War I and the Model T automobile. However, the area had already become an integral part of Garland, and has featured the homes of many of the city's civic, religious, commercial and educational leaders. The houses have also been used for numerous meetings and events as Garland has grown from a small town to a large city. Today, Travis College Hill Addition reflects the architecture and history of the early development of Garland. (2015)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As Garland's population nearly doubled between 1910 and 1920, developers platted the Travis College Hill Addition in 1913, betting on a planned interurban electric trolley line that would connect Dallas to Greenville along the neighborhood's edge. Built on 73 acres of pioneer Wyatt family land beside Garland College, the addition offered large lots meant to draw commerce and homeowners near the coming rail line. The trolley never came—killed by the traction company's bankruptcy, World War I, and the rise of the Model T—but the neighborhood flourished anyway, becoming home to many of Garland's leaders.
Why it matters
Travis College Hill captures the interurban-trolley boom that shaped early-twentieth-century suburban development, and how the automobile quietly rewrote the future of American towns.
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Related people
- · R.O. Travis
- · Richard Wyatt
- · Sallie Wyatt
Themes & tags
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