This house, located in southwest Dallas county was built in 1844 as home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Overton. Built while Texas was still a Republic, the walls were made of logs covered with weatherboarding. It was used as a hospital for soldiers during the Civil War.

This Victorian style building, originally the Park Hotel, was constructed by Thomas Marsalis as part of his million-dollar promotion of Oak Cliff. In 1892 it was converted into the Oak Cliff College for Young Ladies. The college closed by 1907. It was then converted into the Hotel Cliff and in 1915 was remodeled and renamed Forest Inn. It was demolished in 1945.

This photograph of houses on Ewing Avenue show some of the grand houses built in the “Cambridge of the South” development named Oak Cliff that was promoted by T.L. Marsalis. The building boom would last until a recession sent the project into bankruptcy.

This photograph is of Henry Brandenberg’s General Merchandise Store (location?) in about 1904. (from Joe Whitney Collection)

Calling all Oak Cliff/Dallas Historians Archivists for churches, schools, businesses, organizations Family historians, history teachers Anyone interested in Oak Cliff history Please contact us for information about an upcoming Oak Cliff History project. Click to email.

Early E. M. Kahn Clothiers celebration, year? From Whitney collection

Photo of a 1922 gym class at Oak Cliff High School (now Adamson). You might be able to make out the guys on the telephone poles and at the edge of the field getting an eye-full of the all the girls in their sexy gym clothes.

A large flood in May of 1908 cut Oak Cliff off from Dallas for a number of days. As a result, measures were taken to build a better bridge across the Trinity River, and on February 22, 1912, the Dallas and Oak Cliff Bridge (now known as the Houston Street Viaduct) was opened. It was 5106 feet long, cost a staggering $675,000, and was said to be the longest bridge of its kind in the world.

Pig Stand #2: In 1921 Jesse G. Kirby partnered with Ruben W. Jackson and opened a restaurant on Chalk Hill Road called the “Pig Stand.” (This is not a picture of the original -- anyone have such as picture?) The innovative series of restaurants that followed were responsible for the invention of the Onion Ring, Texas Toast, the car hop, drive through, and other innovations.

The Aggie's 12th MAN -- E. King Gill, who played for the Texas A&M Aggies in 1922, was not suited up for post season play. But when the coach needed him in a game, he came out of the stands to replace an injured player. That player was an Oak Cliff graduate of W. H. Adamson High School. Since that time Aggies stand up during the game, ready to be the next 12th man.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow met and hung around Oak Cliff in the early 1930s. On a crime spree that covered Texas and surrounding states, the pair committed 13 murders, numerous kidnappings, and several burglaries and robberies. They were gunned down in Bienville Parish, Louisiana by a posse of men led by Texas Ranger Frank Hamer on May 23, 1934. Clyde is buried in the Western Heights Cemetery.

This detail from a stained glass window at the Tyler Street United Methodist Church is from one of eight windows installed in the 1920s and are considered some of the most beautiful church windows in Texas.

Artist Frank Reaugh(1860-1945): an accomplished landscape and cattle artist as well as an inventor and photographer. Known as the 'Dean of Texas Artists' he helped start the Dallas Art Association (now the Dallas Museum of Art) and founded the Dallas School of Fine Arts. He lived at 6th Street and Crawford (near Lake Cliff.) The building called El Sibil he used as a studio is still located at 5th Street and Crawford.

1945 Graduating Class from Ms Billy's Kindergarten. This school was located in the St Paul Baptist Church  near the N. W. Harlee Elementary School and across the street from where Townview Magnet now stands.  Ms Billy Montgomery taught 40 to 50 preschoolers daily during the 1940's to 1960's.  Most African-American children in the area and in the "Bottoms" attended this school.  Ms Billy Had a positive impact on hundreds of children from that era and area.

In 1924, a group of Methodist ministers, civic leaders and local congregations raised capital and built Dallas Methodist Hospital, a 100-bed facility. One of the early Cliffites born here was George Robert Phillips (Spanky) McFarland who gain famed in Hollywood in the Spanky and Our Gang Series of movies.

The Stamps-Baxter music company was based in Oak Cliff and the Stamps Quartet School of Music held summer camps that attracted hundreds of musicians. This is a photo of the summer class of 1947 take at the Calvary Baptist Church (W. Harrison Baker, pastor.)

One afternoon about 3:00pm on April 2, 1957 the Oak Cliff sky turned green and a twister set it’s sight on north Oak Cliff. Residents could see it coming, and many jumped in their cars to outrun it. It skipped through North Oak Cliff and Wynnewood, ripping apart many homes. On some blocks one home would be completely lost while the house next door was barely touched.

This picture, taken in the back yard of his Oak Cliff residence show Lee Harvey Oswald posing with the rifle that he would later use to kill President John. F. Kennedy and wounded Texas Governor James Connelly.

The house where Lee Harvey rented a room still stands in North Oak Cliff. Oswald probably got off of the bus near here following the assassination, but walked several blocks away where he killed officer J.D. Tippet. He then went to the Texas Theater where he was captured. This house was also used in Oliver Stone film JFK.

Yvonne Craig -  Best known as television's original Batgirl, she went to both Adamson and Sunset High Schools. Born in 1937, her family moved to Oak Cliff around 1950. She moved to LA in 1957 and her first film role was in the movie The Young Land. She did two movies with Elvis Presley, It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin Cousins. She appeared in 19 movies and about 90 TV shows, including Star Trek.

Oak Cliff has been home to many talents. This Kimball High School photo includes famed blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn (center with guitar) and Steven Tobolosky (far right) who has appeared as a character actor in over 200 movies including Groundhog Day and a number of TV shows include Seinfeld.

Jim Wright (Adamson High School, 1939 -- Senior Class President) was elected to the  Texas State house of representatives in 1947 and was elected mayor of Weatherford in 1948. Wright ran for and won the election to the U.S. congress in 1955. He served in the house until 1989. He was elected Speaker of the House in 1987.

Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan attended Kimball High School. (He dropped out in 1972) Born in 1954 at Methodist Hospital, he picked up the guitar in 1963 and left home at 16 when his parents tried to stop his music career (over concern about alcohol an d drugs). He was featured in sever critically and commercially successful albums but died in a helicopter accident in 1990. This statue was erected in Austin.