George Kessler was born on this day (July 16) in 1862. Kessler played a key role in introducing cities in the American heartland to landscape-oriented urban design, including Dallas. He is widely credited as one of the most important figures in shaping our city as we know it today. Click here to find out what pushed city leaders to hire Kessler to develop “A City Plan for Dallas” (also known as The Kessler Plan) and what parts of his plan are still around today!
At the turn of the 20th century, Dallas citizens got most of their water from numerous city wells, the Trinity River, Turtle Creek, and the newly created Bachman Lake. Water had to be brought in to the city by wagon in the hottest summer months when these water sources ran low.
Then, in 1909, a severe drought highlighted the need for more reliable water sources. White Rock Creek was dammed the following year, creating what we now know as White Rock Lake. The spillway was also built at this time.
By 1911, Dallas officials had hired City Planner George Kessler to develop a water management and long-range growth plan for the city. Kessler recommended that the area around the lake be retained for public space and parks since he assumed that much of the land around the reservoir would be developed.
White Rock Lake was not used as a water source for long. In the 1920s, the booming population of Dallas quickly outgrew the small reservoir. Other reservoirs were developed, and White Rock Lake was converted to recreational use only. White Rock Pumping Station was shut down in 1929. The Art Deco style Old Municipal Boathouse and the Bath House were both constructed in 1930, and 36 speedboats took people from shore to shore.
Recreational use was curtailed in the 1950s for various reasons. A severe drought hit North Texas in 1953, and swimming was banned so that the lake could be used as a temporary source of water. Although the lake was not used as a water supply for long, the swim ban remains in effect today. Motor boats were banned in 1958, although kayaking and rowboats are still allowed. The Bath House was closed the same year.
White Rock continues to serve as an important recreational spot for Dallasites who enjoy picnics, bike trails, kayaking, and more at this historic reservoir. The Bath House is now a cultural center that provides exhibit and performance space throughout the year.
A detailed timeline for the lake can be found on the White Rock Lake Conservancy website.
Click here to view more photos of White Rock Lake.
Halloween season is here, and so is the tradition of local media outlets listing and reporting ghost stories and legends around town. Perhaps no ghost story is more infamous to Dallas natives than the Lady of White Rock Lake.
The basic story usually goes something like this:
A man and his wife were driving along White Rock Lake at night when a young girl in a white dress appeared on the side of the road, dripping wet. They stopped to ask if she needed help, and she told them that she was in a boating accident and needed to get back home. The couple offered to give her a ride, and the girl climbed into the back seat. As they were heading in the direction of the girl’s home, the wife turned around to speak to her, but the girl had vanished. All that remained in the back seat was a puddle where the girl had been sitting. Startled, the couple proceeded to the address the girl had given them and knocked on the door. A man answered, and the couple told him what had just happened. The man said that his daughter drowned in White Rock Lake several years ago, and that this has happened several times before.
Like all great urban legends, the origin and the details of the story are muddled. All versions of the story (and there have been several) contain information that was passed down from generation to generation, resulting in a mixture of details that either conflict with each other or are so vague that they cannot be verified. However, very real details about the early development of Dallas tie into this notorious and much-loved ghost tale.
White Rock Lake
At the turn of the century, Dallas citizens got most of their water from numerous city wells, the Trinity River, Turtle Creek, and the newly created Bachman Lake. Water had to be brought in to the city by wagon in the hottest summer months when these water sources ran low and, in 1909, a severe drought highlighted the need for more reliable water sources. White Rock Reservoir was created when White Rock Creek was dammed in 1910. The spillway was also built at this time. In 1911, city planner George Kessler recommended that the area around the lake be retained for public space and parks since he assumed that much of the land around the reservoir would be developed.
The reservoir was not a water source for long. In the 1920s, the booming population of Dallas quickly outgrew the small reservoir. Other reservoirs were developed, and White Rock Lake was converted to recreational use only. In 1929, the White Rock Pumping Station was shut down. A severe drought hit North Texas in 1953, and swimming was banned so that the lake could be used as a temporary source of water. Although the lake was not used as a water supply for long, the swim ban remains in effect. Lawther Drive, a road circling the shores of the lake, was named after former Dallas mayor Joe E. Lawther. The Art Deco style Old Municipal Boathouse and the Bath House were both constructed in 1930, and 36 speedboats took people from shore to shore before motor boats were banned in 1958.
Lady of White Rock Lake
Many versions of the Lady of White Rock Lake ghost story place the victim’s death around the time period that the lake was converted to recreational use. The ghost was sometimes a woman who was driving along Garland Road near Lawther Drive when her car crashed into the lake, and she gives an address of one of the homes in the Forest Hills neighborhood just across the street. In other versions, she was a woman who had committed suicide or was in a boating accident, and she gives an address in Lakewood, off Gaston Avenue, or in Oak Cliff. The neighborhoods surrounding White Rock Lake were developed in the 1920s when many of Dallas’ earliest neighborhoods began to boom. Forest Hills, adjacent to the lake, was marketed as a peaceful escape from the inner city. These neighborhoods contain many architecturally significant structures and intact historic neighborhoods.
All of the neighborhoods and infrastructure mentioned in the retellings of this story would have been in place by the time Anne Clark wrote “The Ghost of White Rock,” published by the Texas Folklore Society in 1943. Sadly, it is impossible to pinpoint the exact origins of the tale, which had likely been circulating for years before it was written down. There were indeed several drownings in White Rock Lake before the 1950s, most notably the drowning death of 20-year-old Hallie Enid Gaston in 1927 which may have been the inspiration for the earliest versions of this story; however, there is not a known case of drowning that perfectly fits within the Lady of White Rock Lake story.
While the Lady of White Rock Lake is most likely an urban legend that has grown and evolved over generations of retellings, the history around this beautiful lake and adjacent neighborhoods are woven into the early history of Dallas and the population boom that occurred here in the first few decades of the 20th century. Next time you are walking or driving near Garland Road and Lawther Drive, go a little slower and ponder the many ghosts of Dallas’ past.
In honor of one of the best traditions in collegiate football, Texas/OU weekend (or OU/Texas weekend however your allegiance lies), let’s take a peek at what Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl looked like back in 1930. This image shows how the 1936 Centennial Exposition would change the layout and architecture of Fair Park to what is seen today. The original configuration of the Cotton Bowl (or Fair Park Stadium) is noticeable in the upper center with all the cars parked in the ‘in-field’ of the old Fair Park racetrack and polo fields.The brand new Fair Park Music Hall, lower right, had just opened, and in the center are the buildings and original park axial plan that would become part of the grand ‘George Dahl’ designed Esplanade. The second photo is a 2018 Google Earth image of Fair Park. – Mark Doty
George E. Kessler is often credited as one of the most important figures in shaping Dallas as we know it today. Kessler was born on July 16, 1862 in Frankenhousen, Germany and emigrated with his family to Dallas when he was three years old. Following the death of his father at age 16, Kessler and his mother returned to Europe where he studied civic design in Germany, France, and Russia. A student of the City Beautiful movement, Kessler’s first commission in Dallas was for the World’s Fair grounds in Fair Park in 1904.
The population in Dallas at the turn-of-the century was exploding. Issues such as disorganized street patterns, flooding, dangerous railroad crossings, inadequate public transportation, and lack of recreational facilities plagued the city. The great Trinity River flood of 1908 devastated West Dallas and placed yet another strain on the booming population. Dallas City officials were already familiar with Kessler because of his work in Fair Park, so they hired him to develop a water management and long-range growth plan for Dallas. “A City Plan for Dallas,” also known as the Kessler Plan, was completed in 1911 and included long-range civic improvements to address the growing pains that Dallas was experiencing.
The Kessler Plan was not implemented right away. At the time, Dallas officials considered the plan to be too extravagant and impractical. Concerns over tax rates and individual property rights were a factor, as well as the sudden popularity of the automobile after 1908 which changed the way that people moved around the city. The population of Dallas grew another 72% in the decade after the plan was created, however, and it became increasingly clear to city leaders that implementing portions of the plan was essential to quality of life and livability in Dallas. Support for the plan grew, and Kessler returned to Dallas in 1918 as a consulting engineer for the Dallas Property Owner’s Association and later the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
Several parts of the plan eventually were implemented over the next several decades, including the following major projects:
Trinity River Improvements – The Trinity River levees and floodplain were completed in the 1930s after being delayed by World War I and other financial issues. The levees have been improved several times since their initial construction.
Central Expressway – Kessler originally intended Central to be a tree-lined boulevard that replaced the rail lines for the Southern Pacific railroad company. Implementation began in the 1920s, but opposition from the Southern Pacific delayed the project for decades. Portions of the freeway opened in 1950 and construction continued north until the late 1960s.
Boulevards – the Kessler Plan originally called for boulevard loops around the city to connect city parks, green spaces, and reservoirs. The tree-lined boulevards were to have wide, grassy medians that would double as recreation space for residents. Only portions of these boulevards were built, and you can still see remnants of them today along roads such as Turtle Creek, South Oak Cliff, and Burlington Boulevards.
Union Station – Railroads in Dallas were a confusing tangle of separate lines running in and around downtown, making travel unsafe and cumbersome for pedestrians and drivers. Kessler’s plan called for the consolidation of rail lines through a central terminal. Union Station, dubbed the “front door” of Dallas, was completed in 1916 and quickly became a major hub in the Southwest. Read more about Union Station here.
Unfortunately, Kessler did not live to see his plan in Dallas realized and he passed away in 1923 while overseeing a project in Indianapolis. Kessler played a key role in introducing cities in the American heartland to landscape-oriented urban design, and his impact on early city planning in Dallas cannot be overstated.
FURTHER READING:
A City Plan for Dallas by George E. Kessler – A Portal to Texas History
City of Dallas Office of Historic Preservation 