More of the city’s story
These neighborhoods are Dallas.
You can say you live in Oak Cliff and still live in Dallas. A neighborhood name identifies a community; a municipal boundary identifies its city government. Some places joined Dallas through annexation. Others developed as neighborhoods within the city.
Which city are these places in?
| Place | What the name describes | Relationship to Dallas |
|---|---|---|
| Oak Cliff | Former incorporated city; now a broad area of neighborhoods. | Annexed in 1903. [21] |
| Highland Hills | A neighborhood, including the college campus story below. | Part of Dallas. [34] |
| Joppa | A historic freedmen’s community. | Annexed October 3, 1955. [26] |
| Tenth Street | A historic Black neighborhood within Oak Cliff. | Part of Dallas through Oak Cliff. [21] [36] |
| Wheatley Place | A subdivision developed for Black Dallas residents. | A Dallas neighborhood, developed from 1916. [28] |
“Freedmen’s town” describes a community built by formerly enslaved people and their families after the Civil War. It does not automatically mean an incorporated municipality with its own city government. [29] [27]
1887–1903 · A city joins Dallas
Oak Cliff: a separate city that joined Dallas
Thomas Marsalis and John S. Armstrong developed Oak Cliff in 1887; incorporation followed in 1891. The early project promoted an affluent residential and resort community. [25] [21]
The depression of 1893 weakened that economy. Lots were later subdivided for middle- and working-class buyers. In 1903, an 18-vote margin approved annexation. Oak Cliff’s name survived its separate city government. [25]
Oak Cliff includes many neighborhoods. Tenth Street, below, is one of its historic Black communities. [36]
1961 & 1990 · Black higher education
Highland Hills: a neighborhood and its colleges
Highland Hills is different from Highland Park. Highland Hills is a Dallas neighborhood; Highland Park has its own municipal government. [34] [11]
Bishop College moved from Marshall to southern Dallas in 1961 and closed in 1988. Paul Quinn College relocated from Waco in 1990, occupying the former Bishop campus. [30] [31]
In 2013, artist Vicki Meek worked with alumni and Highland Hills and Singing Hills residents to commemorate Bishop’s cultural history. [32]
1872–1955 · Organizing for services
Joppa: residents wanted to join Dallas
Dallas County dates Joppa’s beginnings to 1872, naming Henry Critz Hines, formerly enslaved on the Miller plantation, as its founder. Melissa Pierce donated land for a church and school. [27]
Laurabelle Foster chartered the South Central Civic League in 1948. Residents sought water, sanitation, fire hydrants and better transport. Annexation was among their goals. Dallas annexed Joppa on October 3, 1955. [27] [26]
After 1865 · A community within Oak Cliff
Tenth Street: Black history within a former city
Formerly enslaved people settled here after the Civil War. A church opened in 1880 and a school in 1886. The state historical marker describes a Black commercial community that developed under segregation within historically white Oak Cliff. [29] [36]
Dallas recognized the neighborhood as a landmark district in 1993; National Register listing followed in 1994. [29]
In a 2019 National Trust interview, advocates Demetria McCain and Jorge Jasso described low incomes, public disinvestment and demolition pressures. That August, Dallas temporarily halted publicly funded demolitions in the district. [33]
1916 onward · Housing, transit & civil rights
Wheatley Place: making room under segregation
Wheatley Place developed in 1916 for Black residents facing restricted housing opportunities. The Myrtle Street streetcar connected the new neighborhood with downtown work. Nearby Black communities included the Prairie and Queen City. [28]
Dallas’s history of Juanita Craft’s nearby Warren Avenue home records eleven bombings in the surrounding area during 1950–51. Craft later used her home to teach and organize young people for civil rights. [35]
How to read the map
Municipal outlines show contemporary Dallas and the Park Cities. The five added locations use approximate landmark reference points: Lake Cliff Park, the former Bishop/current Paul Quinn campus, South Central Park in Joppa, the Tenth Street state historical marker, and Juanita Craft’s home near Wheatley Place. Selecting Oak Cliff or Joppa also highlights a recorded annexation tract. Tenth Street and Wheatley Place selections highlight city-published landmark districts. Labels identify the type and period of each reference area; they do not define every historic community’s full extent.
The 2019 Tenth Street account describes conditions and a temporary decision at that time. It is not presented as a current income estimate or an ongoing demolition policy.
Read the sources →