This and the above images are from
From Water Supply to Urban Oasis: A History of White Rock Lake Park, Dallas, Texas by Steven Butler
Master Plan for White Rock Lake from 1937
Garland Road and the southern end of White Rock when Garland was a two lane road and White Rock was “out in the country”
Speedboat races
Speedboat races were popular at White Rock Lake until the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting boats with greater than a 10-horsepower motor. Boats are pictured lined up at the docks along the northern shore of T&P Hill in 1938.
https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2010/february/white-rock-lake-in-dallas-turns-100/
Surfing in White Rock, 1941
the Bonnie Barge
It was the largest vessel ever seen on White Rock Lake. Measuring 65 feet long by 22 feet wide and powered "by a husky 'sea mule' motor of the type used by...invasion craft," the boat was capable of carrying up to 150 passengers. It was named by Park Director L. B. Houston for Williams' wife, Bonnie. In a 1947 newspaper article, Williams remarked: "Folks can do everything but play shuffleboard on the Bonnie." During the hour-long afternoon excursions, he added, "They can get a sun-tan, picnic over bouncing waves, dance to our music, or just plain go cruising." On balmy summer evenings, the brightly lit Bonnie Barge, its deck crowded with private partygoers dancing to recorded music, was a frequent sight on the darkened waters of the lake.
In 1956 the Dallas City Council reacted to "dangerous overcrowding on the lake" and a "feud between sailboat enthusiasts and powerboat owners" by passing an ordinance "prohibiting any boat with a larger than ten horsepower engine" from operating on its waters. Unfortunately, the ordinance not only drove powerboat owners to other area lakes, it also ended the operations of the Bonnie Barge.
http://www.cscsailing.org/club_history.html
In the 1950’s White Rock completely dried up in a drought. Here is a picture of a mother and child walking up to the Bonnie Barge sitting on dry ground. On the right is another picture of the grounded barge during the drought.
WHite Rock Car Wash
For a while in Dallas it was common to drive your car onto the spillway and use the water from the lake to give your automobile a wash. You can also see the walkway that used to span the spillway in this picture.
BOATHOUSES
In these early years, one could get a permit from the city to build a little weekend cabin, fishing cottage or boathouse (photo) on park land around the lake. Camp sites were leased from the city on a year-to-year basis for $20. The sailing clubs had their origins in these weekend retreats. As one of CCC projects, in 1939, the city ordered the demolition of the over 250 deteriorating boathouses and cabins that remained around the lake. The cabins were demolished as their leases expired. Most were torn down in 1939 and 40. About 30 boathouses remained until they were removed in 1952.
http://www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/wrl.htm
Workers disassembling a boathouse in 1939.
WHITE ROCK NAVY
The Navy Reserve Corps of Dallas was established in 1922 and had a dock and naval station on the lake in the mid-1920s. With 3 cutters (photo) and 150 men, this was one of the largest inland navies in the US. These reservists may have been the first sailors on the lake.
http://www.cscsailing.org/club_history.html
PEA PATCH PRISON
The Pea Patch was a city prison farm located near the dam, where non-violent offenders worked off their fines at the rate of one dollar per day. (In 1934, this rate was increased to $3 per day.) The term "Pea Patch" was probably derived from the garden where prisoners were put to work growing some of their own food. During the night, they were incarcerated in cells in a brick building. For years, a common phrase heard around Dallas was: "You better not get into trouble, sonny boy, they will send you to the 'pea patch' at White Rock."
Generally, the prison farm housed from fifteen to thirty-five offenders. Depending upon the number of prisoners, there were one or two men assigned to guard them. A cook was also employed. By the time the farm was closed there were only five prisoners in residence.
For many years this system was viewed as beneficial to all parties involved: A indigent prisoner was able to pay off his fine with work instead of money, the city got cheap labor, the lakeshore was kept clean and tidy, and the jailor had fewer prisoners to guard. After the park became more heavily used, however, there began to be complaints that prisoners were "unsightly," rude, or "unknowledgeable when a visitor asked a question." This led the Park Board to question the suitability of the practice and on January 22, 1935, it came to an end (although there were some instances during the 1940s and 1950s when it was temporarily re-instituted).
http://www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/wrl.htm
WHITE ROCK AMUSEMENT PARK
In 1928, City Water Commissioner, Col. S. E. Moss, ignited controversy when he proposed a "Coney Island" style amusement park for White Rock Lake. It was not a popular idea.
THE LADY OF THE LAKE
A woman named Anne Clark wrote what may be the earliest published account of the legend. Titled "The Ghost of White Rock," Clark's brief story was included in the Texas Folklore Society's 1943 publication, Backwoods to Border. It read:
One hot July night a young city couple, having driven out and parked on the shore of White Rock Lake, switched on the headlights of the car and saw a white figure approaching. As the figure came straight to the driver's window, they saw it was a young girl dressed in a sheer white dress that was dripping wet. She spoke in a somewhat faltering voice.
I'm sorry to intrude, and I would not under any other circumstances, but I must find a way home immediately. I was in a boat that overturned. The others are safe. But I must get home.
She climbed into the rumble seat, saying that she did not wish to get the young lady wet, and gave them an address in Oak Cliff, on the opposite side of Dallas. The young couple felt an uneasiness concerning their strange passenger, and as they neared the destination the girl, to avoid hunting the address, turned to the rumble seat to ask directions. The rumble seat was empty, but still wet.
After a brief, futile search for the girl in white, the couple went to the address she had given and were met at the door by a man whose face showed lines of worry. When he had heard the couple's story, the man replied in a troubled voice. "This is a very strange thing. You are the third couple who has come to me with this story. Three weeks ago, while sailing on White Rock Lake, my daughter was drowned."
http://www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/wrl.htm
White Rock Riot
“This surveillance film of the White Rock Lake riot was made to study crowd behavior and police response to civil disturbances, a hot topic in police training by the early 70s. White Rock Lake was one of Dallas' cruising and hang-out spots for youth during the 1960s and 1970s. Approximately 200 Dallas teens were on the bluff near East Lawther and North Cliff Drive in the late afternoon of March 6, 1977 when several fistfights broke out. About 20 police cars converged on the area and attempted to clear the park. The teens taunted police, clapping and chanting peace slogans, until police dispersed the group. At least nine people were jailed for various offenses.”
Click the picture to be taken to the video
Adam’s favorite White Rock area spots
Lounge Here for a drink and nice dinner - TIP: The best cheeseburger in town
Smoky Rose for a night time patio experience - TIP: Get a time machine and go back to when they served candied bacon with maple syrup to dip it in
Goodfriend Package for breakfast - TIP: Get the Farm Egg Biscuit Sandwich with sriracha cheddar and home made sausage on the home made beer biscuit. It’s amazing!
Local Traveler for little more upscale fun - TIP: Park around back
Goodfriend Beer Garden for a group hang
Hypnotic Donuts for breakfast - TIP: The donuts get weird and delicious and the chicken biscuits are HUGE
Hypnotic Emporium for dessert
White Rock Station
The White Rock passenger station — the Santa Fe railroad’s first suburban train depot built in the Southwest — opened on December 5, 1955 on Jupiter Road, about a quarter of a mile south of Kingsley, a few miles northeast of White Rock Lake. It was the culmination of a $7,000,000 construction project in which two depots were built and 49.3 miles of new track was laid between Dallas and Denton.
The new track was important because it offered passengers from Dallas the ability to travel for the first time directly to Chicago without having to change trains. It also reduced freight line distances by 65 miles. The swanky streamlined Texas Chief shuttled passengers between Dallas’ Union Station and Chicago in about 19 hours.
The Dallas Arboretum & Botanical garden
Just minutes from downtown on the shore of White Rock Lake, we feature 66 acres with 11 lush display gardens that offer seasonal color all year long. Home of Dallas Blooms Spring, the Southwest's largest outdoor floral festival, we provide a tranquil oasis where visitors are surrounded by the beauty of all four seasons. Amenities include the Hoffman Family Gift Shop, a dining terrace and several facilities available for rental.
Overlooking scenic White Rock Lake, we offer the perfect venue for workshops, lectures, dinners, receptions, weddings, and special events set in 66 acres of lush gardens and beautiful vistas. Our new 5,000 square feet Rosine Hall, the historic DeGolyer Home and the elegant Camp House offer a variety of options to make each event unique.
https://www.visitdallas.com/things-to-do/venue/view/6881/Dallas-Arboretum-and-Botanical-Garden.html
