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Welcome to the website of the Lancaster Historical
Society!
We're glad you're here, and hope you find our site to be useful as
well as interesting. Please look around, bookmark our site, and plan to visit
frequently to keep up with our activities.
Click on any title to jump down the page for
more information.
About Our Organization
The Lancaster Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that works to
preserve our heritage, protect historic buildings and sites, and educate
the public. We hold meetings that feature programs that
inform and entertain members and guests with lively presentations about
people and places of note in local history.
Our meetings are free and open to the public, and are usually held at
locations of historic significance, including the MKT Depot. The MKT Depot and Rose Garden are maintained by the
Lancaster Historical Society for the benefit of the citizens of Lancaster.
Membership dues pay for the operation of our organization, but are not sufficient to cover the
costs of preserving the Depot, so we hold one or more fundraising events
each year.
The
historic MKT Depot and Rose Garden are available for rent! Weddings, bridal showers,
birthday parties, meetings of your favorite book club or other
organization - you name it, the Depot will be the perfect setting for
your event. Call
LHS Secretary Carol Strain-Burk (972-227-1382) for more information, or visit our Feedback
page and request more information.
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The general membership of the Lancaster Historical Society meets
several times each year, often (but not always) at
the historic MKT Depot. The Depot is located next to
the railroad tracks on Pecan Street, just east of Centre Street. Refreshments are
usually served at 3:30 PM, and the meeting follows at 4:00
PM. Visitors are always welcome!
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| February
15 - Great Texas Love Affairs |
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Dr. Rose-Mary Rumbley
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Love will
be in the air as Dr. Rose-Mary Rumbley visits the
Historic MKT Depot as special guest speaker at our first
meeting of the new year. In her program
"Great Texas Love Affairs", Dr. Rumbley will
bring to life such well-known historical figures as
Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured by Indians and
later became the mother of Quanah Parker, and Miriam A.
"Ma" Ferguson, first female governor of
Texas.
Dr. Rumbley could be described as a Renaissance Woman: humorist,
teacher, actress, historian, journalist, and author. She
is familiar to many local residents thanks to her
appearances on stage at the Dallas Summer Musicals and at Casa
Mañana in Fort Worth. Others know her from her numerous
books, which include "The Unauthorized History of Dallas,
Texas", "What? No Chili!", "Dear Santa:
Thanks for the Piano", and "Dallas, Too".
Dr. Rumbley served as head of the drama
department at Dallas Baptist University for 12 years and also
served on the staff of First Baptist Church of Dallas for 7
years. She holds a doctorate in communications. |
The Historical Society's first meeting of the new year will begin with
refreshments and musical entertainment at 3:00 PM on Sunday,
February 15th. Refreshments will be prepared by the
Culinary Arts Department at Lancaster ISD, and music will be
performed by a string ensemble from the Lancaster High School
Orchestra. The meeting will begin at 4:00 PM.
Seating is limited, so please RSVP to LHS Vice President Dee
Hinkle at 972-227-5486 by February 12th, or by e-mail to
. Click here
for a map and directions to the MKT Depot. |
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| April
19 - Historic Preservation |
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Peggy Riddle of Cornerstone
Historic Preservation Services has over 25 years of experience
in the field of museum services, historic preservation, and
cultural resource management. She has directed and managed
nationally recognized projects, including the restoration and
renovation of the Hall of State at Fair Park (owned by the City
of Dallas and managed by the Dallas Historical Society).
Ms. Riddle also supervised the building of a new museum, Legends
of the Game Baseball Museum, for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club
in Arlington. As Historic Preservation Manager for the
City of Grapevine, she oversaw the restoration of the historic
Palace Theater and the installation of exhibit systems.
Make your plans now to join us for her informative
program. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM and the
meeting will begin at 4:00 PM. |
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| June
14 - Top O' Hill Terrace - From Poker to Preachers |
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Top O' Hill Terrace
A Texas Historic Landmark
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Sermons and
hymns now ring across the terraced hills that once
hummed with the sounds of slot machines and roulette
wheels. But in the 1920s, Top O' Hill Terrace
was a renowned gambling casino hidden on the grounds of
a former Tea Garden. Vicki Bryant, a pastor's wife
and curator of the Heritage Collection at Arlington
Baptist College, will take us back to a time when Top
O'Hill Terrace was the local version of Vegas, and
she'll tell us how it was transformed from a haven for
the famous and infamous to an educational facility
that's changing the lives of people in an entirely
different way.
Refreshments
will be served at 3:00 PM and the presentation will
begin at 4:00 PM. Click here
for a map and directions to the MKT Depot. |
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| August
16 - Program To Be Announced Soon (Date subject to change) |
| October
9-10 - 4th Annual OktoberFest |
| December
5 - Christmas Open House |
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These events are history now, but we'll leave this information
so you can get an idea of the type of programs we offer each
year.
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| May
18 - Peters Colony of Texas |
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Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck will present a
program about the Peters Colony of Texas. Like many other
communities, Lancaster owes its existence to settlers who came
to Texas in order to take advantage of the land grants
authorized by the Republic of Texas and administered by the W.
S. Peters Company of Louisville, Kentucky. All across
North Texas, the Peters Company doled out sections of land - a
full section (640 acres) to each family and a half-section (320
acres) to each unmarried man over 17. In order to lay
claim to the land, the settlers were required to fence their
property, build a cabin, and cultivate at least 10 acres.
They were also required to pledge allegiance to the Republic of
Texas.
Mr. Bockstruck has worked at
the Dallas Library since 1973, and currently serves as the
Supervisor of the Genealogy Section. He is the author of
several books, including a collection of his columns from the Dallas
Morning News.
This meeting will take place at the historic
Strain Farm, located at 400 S. Lancaster-Hutchins Road.
Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM, and the meeting will
begin at 4:00 PM. This event is free and open to the
public.
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The W.A. Strain
House was built in 1895-96 on land that was settled by
Peters Colonists in 1846. Visit www.StrainFarm.com
for more information.
The Strain Farm is
owned and occupied by Lancaster Historical Society
Treasurer Carol Strain-Burk and her husband Ted Burk. |
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William Johnson Winniford came to
Texas in 1845 as a Peters Colonist, then went to
California during the Gold Rush. He returned to
Texas in 1853 and homesteaded his 320-acre land grant,
which is the site of the WInniford House, currently
owned and occupied by Lancaster Historical Society Board
Member Winniford Morton. |
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| August
3 - Lancaster, The Homefront During World War II |
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COL Charlie Wood, Wing Leader of
the Commemorative Air Force DFW Wing, will join with
Dr. Mary Sykes to present this special program about
World War II, the aircraft that made history and helped
to win the war, and the impact on folks back home.
During WWII, more than 300,000 planes were built in the
U.S., many from defense plants in the DFW
Metroplex. The Commemorative Air Force was formed
when it was discovered that these planes - the arsenal
of democracy - were systematically being destroyed/smeltered
without regard to preserving - in some cases - even one
example of the historic aircraft that changed the
world. The urgent mission began to save at least
one aircraft of each type that flew in protection of our
country. Today, that mission has been
accomplished.
The DFW
Wing of the Commemorative
Air Force is located at Lancaster
Municipal Airport. Their Hangar and Museum are
open to the public every week-end - Saturdays from 9 AM
- 4 PM, and Sundays from Noon - 4 PM.
This meeting will be held in the
conference room at the CAF Hangar. Refreshments
will be served at 3:30 PM, and the meeting/program will
begin at 4:00 PM. The meeting is free and open to
the public. |
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The
Douglas R4D was commonly called "Ready For
Duty" and was used in World War II to transport
paratroopers. This plane is in the collection of
vintage aircraft owned and maintained in flying
condition by the Commemorative Air Force at Lancaster
Airport. |
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| Click
here for information about 2007
programs. |
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| October
9-10 - Fourth Annual
OktoberFest |
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Be sure to mark your calendars
for October 9-10, 2009, and plan to join us at
the MKT Depot to experience a taste of Bavaria! Visit our OktoberFest
page for more information about this year's event. Check
back often, as we will post more news and information as it
develops.
In the meantime, enjoy our photos from
previous years:
OktoberFest
2008
OktoberFest 2007.
OktoberFest 2006.
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| December
5 -
Christmas Open House |
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Once again LHS will
welcome visitors to the historic MKT Depot during a Christmas Open
House to be held on the first Saturday in December in cooperation with the
2009
Annual Lancaster Lights & Tour of Homes. Open
House hours are 5:00 - 9:00 PM on Saturday, December 5.
This event is free and open to the
public. Check out our Photo
Album for photos from previous years. |
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| May
31, 2008 - Dinner Under the Sycamores |
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Winniford House at Deerwood Farm
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Winn Morton and the Lancaster Historical Society
invite you to join us for an evening of fine dining and
classical music at the historic Winniford House on Deerwood
Farm. Dinner will be catered by Edgar's, and music will be
provided by The Swedish Baroque Trio, a string ensemble from
Stockholm, Sweden.
Tickets are $50 per person, with proceeds
benefiting the preservation of the Historic MKT Depot and other
work of the Historical Society. Reservations must be
received no later than Tuesday, May 27, 2008.
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| For more information, call Carol
Strain-Burk at 972-227-1382. Or download a copy of the
invitation and response card to reply by mail: Invitation
(PDF 620 KB) Reply
Card (PDF 243 KB)
Click here
to download a print-friendly PDF file (107 KB) with a map and
detailed directions. Click here
to open a new window with Google Maps to get directions to
Deerwood Farm from your location. |
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Return to Top of Page
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For more information, contact a member of the Board
of Directors:
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President |
Susan Anderson |
972-227-3810 |
| Vice President |
Dee Hinkle |
972-227-5486 |
Secretary |
Peggy Smith |
972-218-8347 |
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Treasurer |
Carol
Strain-Burk |
972-227-1382 |
Please use our Feedback Form
for any of the following:
 | To learn more about renting the MKT Depot and
Rose Garden for your special event |
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To be added to our e-mail list for meeting
reminders |
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To request more information about Lancaster or
about LHS |
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To submit your historic photos and anecdotes for possible inclusion
on our website |
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To join! |
Postal Mail to LHS should be sent to:
P. O. Box 173
Lancaster, TX 75146.
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