Shady Grove, Texas, Dallas County. (original) (raw)
History in a Pecan Shell
One of about nine communities of the same name in Texas (and scores of others throughout the Southern US), the Dallas County Shady Grove was named by early settlers after a group of oak trees.
Early history is hard to come by, but in the 1930s, Shady Grove had a mere 20 people. They stopped counting before the 1950 census but it had grown to 50 residents by 1947.
Recent history and turmoil:
Although it was annexed by Grand Prairie in 1968, that didn�t stop an attempt of annexation by Irving the following year. Residents felt as though their needs weren�t being net by Grand Prairie and petitioned for a rare �disannexation� in the early 1970s.
As recently as the mid 1980s, residents and city officials in both Irving and Grand Prairie were confused over the status (and particularly the boundaries) of Shady Grove.
A joint committee of officials from both Grand Prairie and Irving was established to discuss zoning and public service issues in the Shady Grove area.
"Here are a few photos of a cemetery. If you drive west on Shady Grove out of Irving, you come to Rte 161. Just before it, there's a trailer park; just past it, immediately on your left, there's a cemetery. Maybe Shady Grove extended all that way, or maybe that was Grand Prairie." - David Cole
Forum
"Shady Grove is a name of a major street in South Irving now but there was a city: I don't think you'll find Shady Grove on any maps... I can't find the site, but as I recall Irving agreed to provide police and fire services that Grand Prairie would not, so Shady Grove decided to become part of Irving." - David Cole, October 09, 2011