Meet Me at the Stone Dam at Allen Station

[Imagebuffet]

I'm going to have a group of people meet at noon this Saturday at the Stone Dam at Allen Station. Feel free to come out!

Location: East Exchange Pkwy, Allen, TX

In the 19th Century, steam locomotives needed to refill their water tanks about every 10 miles. Where creeks presented sufficient water, the railroads built water reservoirs by damming the creek. The Houston & Texas Central Railway Company built a stone dam at this location as part of their rail line expansion up towards Oklahoma. This small dam is the only historic railway reservoir known to exist in the United States. The City of Allen has built trails around this location and a large, modern recreational park on the other side of Exchange Parkway (1120 N. Cedar Drive). This is an easy, short hike. After we explore this spot, we could continue on a driving tour of Allen's historical sites.

[digitaldude400d]

Sounds like a lot of fun Richard. Count me in on this one!

[Imagebuffet]

Originally Posted by digitaldude400d

Sounds like a lot of fun Richard. Count me in on this one!

I look forward to meeting you.

Wow! You are coming all the way from Fort Worth? I'm impressed!

I found a map online by the Allen Heritage Guild that presents an "Historic Allen Driving Tour." If folks get their fill of the Stone Dam location (I spent 3 hours there, myself), we could drive to a few other spots in Allen, too.

[digitaldude400d]

After seeing the pictures from there the other day I have wanted to drive out and have a look. I almost went out there on Tuesday but changed plans at the last minute.

I look forward to meeting you as well and Im really excited about this and hope that some others hop on board as well.

[Imagebuffet]

Originally Posted by digitaldude400d

After seeing the pictures from there the other day I have wanted to drive out and have a look. I almost went out there on Tuesday but changed plans at the last minute.

I'm flattered.

Originally Posted by digitaldude400d

I look forward to meeting you as well and Im really excited about this and hope that some others hop on board as well.

I've searched the Web for what information I could find about the Stone Dam.

For a brief history and more engineering analysis than a normal person could desire, view:

STABILIZATION OF THE H&CT RAILWAY STONE DAM

The Historic Allen Driving Tour:

Historic Allen Driving Tour PDF

Google has already found my Flickr photos of the dam:

Imagebuffet's Allen, TX Set on Flickr

A blurb about Allen Station, the 40-acre park located across the street from Stone Dam:

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AWARD WINNERS ARCHIVE: Allen Park Station

[hawgmauler]

I wish I could make it this weekend. I've really wanted to check out that dam since you posted pics the other day. is the old train bridge far from the dam? Great pics by the way.

[Imagebuffet]

Originally Posted by hawgmauler

I wish I could make it this weekend. I've really wanted to check out that dam since you posted pics the other day. is the old train bridge far from the dam? Great pics by the way.

Thanks for the compliment on my pics!

The bridge is about 100 feet or so from the dam, but that's through tall brush in the wooded area. The path to the dam is wheelchair accessible, but you need to be in decent physical condition to go to the trestle.

Imagebuffet added 1380 Minutes and 40 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

For those who come out to the stone dam tomorrow, there are some additional locations in the area that might be interesting. In particular, I would like to find a way to reach the location of the 1844 Muncey massacre. This was the last lethal Indian raid in Collin County, resulting in the deaths of several people. The location is not far from the stone dam, which was built 30 years after the massacre.

There are also some historic buildings in Allen that I would like to visit. I have a map with street addresses. I have about a half-hour extra that I can spare for this, before I head down to Dallas for the Mardi Gras.

[J Eddington]

I was confusedby your statement that you would like to find a way to reach teh location of the massacre. Is the massacre where the historical Marker is at? 2800 Spring Creek Pkwy., Plano, TX, USA

Long Description:
The location can be accessed from Avenue K. Turn in to the business complex and park in the back of the lot. Parking coords N33 04.017 W096 41.087.

The marker was donated by Wm. Stephen Chambless, M.D., 1999.

Indians living in Collin County were of the Caddo, Cherokee, Delaware, Kickapoo, and Tonkawa tribes. These tribes were peaceful farming/hunting Indians.

A Kiowa chief by the name of Spotted Tail moved his band to the flats between Frisco and Prosper in the mid-1840s. While his band lived in the area the residents of Collin County were not attacked. Spotted Tail helped bury the dead in a smallpox epidemic in 1873, but he contracted the disease which resulted in his death. He had asked for a white man’s burial and received it. He is buried at Buckner Cemetery in McKinney.

The attacking Indians usually came in from the west and were Comanche.


See you at noon!

[Jeff_Green]

I can't wait to hear how your dam shoot went! I hope you got some good dam pictures!

[timbertoes]

I belive the actaul area is located between Hiway 75, and Greenville ave.

The present marker at the CCCD campus area location was moved there a while back.

there are 2 supposed locations.

Both on Rowlett creek, one close to where it crosses Jupiter road to the west.
the other approx 300 yards from 75, at a sharp bend in the creek.
Both locations turn out to be in close proximity to each other.

[Imagebuffet]

Thanks to those of you who met with us. Two people from TPF and two people from the Dallas Wildlife Hiking group, plus myself, met at Stone Dam at Allen Station. We went straight out to the railroad bridge that is upstream of the dam. It was nice that one of the guys in our group had worked a few months with some hydrology engineers and could explain the significance of various structures that we saw. I haven't downloaded my photos to my computer, yet. I actually had planned to go straight to the Mardi Gras in downtown Dallas, but I'm hungry and tired, so I'm taking a break at home.

One of the men from the Dallas Wildlife Hiking group joined me in finding the stone cross marker commemorating the Muncey massacre. The marker is located off K Street (Hwy 5), a few hundred feet behind an office building, on the banks of Rowlett Creek.

After I was left to myself, I hiked out to an abandoned railroad trestle that I spotted in Google Earth, about 1000 feet upstream of the Muncey massacre marker. Now I know a few ways to reach that trestle without crossing any fence lines.

I first learned of the Muncey massacre from the historical marker that is located on the Collin College Spring Creek campus. I found that marker while I was walking around the back of the main building for my Photography class lab assignment.