Category Archives: Local towns

Eisenhower’s Birthplace in Denison

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It’s almost President’s Day, so how about a day trip to the birthplace of our thirty fourth president? World War II hero and President, Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas.

North Texas Ramblings - Eisenhower's Birthplace in DenisonLocated just 70 miles north of Dallas near the Oklahoma border, Denison thrived as a railroad town in the 1880s. Eisenhower’s father, David, came to Denison to work for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (KATY) Railroad in 1889. David and his wife, Ida, already had two boys. Dwight, their third child, would be born in 1890. The Eisenhowers lived in Denison only three years, returning to Kansas when Dwight was just a toddler. Ironically, Dwight Eisenhower did not even know he was born in Denison until mid-life. A Denison teacher, Ms Jennie Jackson, thought she remembered the Eisenhowers, and discovered the family’s link to the town by combing through old city records. Following World War II, the local community bought the house where Dwight Eisenhower was born and that his family had rented while living in Texas. Eisenhower visited Denison for the first time as an adult in 1946 having breakfast with community leaders and Ms Jackson at his birthplace home.

The Texas Historical Commission now operates the site. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum, in Abiliene Kansas, houses the presidential papers and almost all presidential artifacts. However, Eisenhower’s Birthplace in Denison has a small collection of Eisenhower memorabilia including a painting by the President. A film in the visitor’s center provides a short history of President Eisenhower’s life and legacy. The docent-lead tour is well worth the admission cost. The knowledgeable guides paint a picture of Denison life in the 1890s, and shares a wealth of information about the challenges Eisenhower’s parents faced in those early years when David, Ike’s father, worked for the KATY railroad.

Near the Eisenhower’s home, a larger than life bronze statue stands atop a marble base. This is one of four Robert Dean sculptures of Eisenhower in military uniform. The other three statues are at West Point, the London Embassy and at his presidential library in Abilene.

Eisenhower’s Birthplace (609 S. Lamar, Denison, 903/465-8908) is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 1:00 until 5:00 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for students. There are picnic grounds next to the visitors’ center.

Winter Weekends Near Dallas

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While our northern neighbors are shoveling snow, Dallasites can take advantage of moderate winter weather. In fact, many of these destinations are best visited in winter or early spring before our hot summer heat makes outdoor activities unbearable. Whether it’s a family safari, gathering fossils or diamond hunting, here are five family-friendly winter weekend destinations within driving distance of Dallas.

Mineral Wells, Texas.

Mineral Wells Fossil Park will capture young paleontologists’ imaginations. Located just 80 miles southwest of Dallas, the park contains thousands of small, prehistoric sea life fossils. The park was once a borrow pit used by the city for dirt fill. Years of rain and erosion exposed the 300 million old fossils with many readily visible throughout the pit.

Gathering fossils is easy – no digging necessary. Bring a small baggie for collecting treasures. You won’t find a dinosaur here, but you can keep what you unearth! The park is free, and is open Friday through Monday.

Glen Rose, Texas

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center is as close as you’ll get to an African safari without boarding a plane. Spanning 1800 acres near Glen Rose, Texas, the sprawling complex is home to North Texas Ramblingsover 50 species of exotic African and Eurasian animals. The most common way to observe the animals is from your car. Buy a bag of animal feed and you’ll make a herd of new friends as you drive the nine mile park route.

Nearby Dinosaur World will thrill pint-sized dino lovers with over 100 dinosaur replicas.

Waco, Texas

Waco Mammoth Site is an often overlooked destination. In 1978, two teenage boys spotted a bone embedded in a dry Waco creek bed. The boys’ find became the largest nursery herd of Columbian mammoth (19 mammoths and a camel) discovered. The Waco Mammoth Site opened to the public in 2009. Docent-led tours take you through a climate-controlled building surrounding the dig site where you can see mammoth bones as they were found.

While in Waco, stop by the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. Most of the museum focuses on real Texas Rangers, but one section is dedicated to our fictional heroes like those in Lone Ranger and Walker Texas Ranger television series.

Murfreesboro, Arkansas

Crater of the Diamond State Park may make you rich. Or so you hope. About 250 miles east of Dallas, the park is the only diamond mine open to the public. To the uninitiated, the mine looks like nothing more than a plowed farmer’s field. But appearances can be deceiving. Hidden in the dirt furrows are diamonds, agate, jasper and quartz.

Park visitors find over 500 diamonds each year, though most diamonds are less than the size of a pea. Adventurous families can camp at the park or the Queen of Diamonds Inn in Murfreesboro offers affordable and comfortable lodging.

Grapevine, Texas

Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine fits the bill for those wanting a weekend escape without the car drive. Your stay at the lodge includes access to their massive indoor water park – a guaranteed winner with the youngsters. Great Wolf Lodge offers special discounts for multiple night stays (up to 20 percent off) and even deeper room discounts for families staying during the weeknights.

While it’s possible to spend an entire weekend just at the lodge, be sure to take advantage of all the nearby Grapevine offers. Reopening February 22, 2013, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad transports passengers from Grapevine depot to the Stockyards in Fort Worth via old time rail cars pulled by either Puffy (a 1896 steam engine) or Vinny (a 1953 diesel engine).

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

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Snowbirds are on their way, flocking to Texas to escape northern winters. No, they are not the two-legged variety driving RV’s. These feathered visitors arrive by wing. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, near the Texas and Oklahoma border, hosts up to 30,000 migratory birds October through February. Just west of Sherman, Hagerman North Texas Ramblings Hagerman National Wildlife Refugeprovides wetland habitat for thousands of Canada, snow and Ross geese each winter along with ducks, heron and songbirds.  Cormorant troll the waterways their long necks like submarine periscopes, great blue heron look like prehistoric pterodactyl against the sky, and thousands of snow geese honk a continuous serenade. In total, over 300 bird species call the refuge home. It’s a veritable birder’s paradise.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge offers a four-mile, self-guided auto tour. Ideal for birders with limited mobility, the driving route gets you up close to thousands of birds without ever leaving the car. The best part, your parked car serves as an effective birding blind!

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge has recreational activities beyond birding. In addition to the driving route, the refuge has miles of hiking trails. You’ll find additional bird species along with many local animals like armadillo, rabbit, fox squirrel and the occasional coyote, bobcat and feral pig. Trails cover a variety of habitat from prairie to marsh to woodland. The Meadow Pond trail is along an unpaved service road that is an easy hike for families with small children. Enjoy a packed lunch at one of the many picnic areas scattered throughout the refuge.

The area’s history is as interesting as the migratory birds wintering at the refuge. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is named for a town now under Lake Texoma. Founded in 1904, Hagerman boasted 250 residents, church, school and cotton gin.  In 1943, the Army Corps of Engineers built Denison Dam. The dam submerged the town and created one of the largest man made reservoirs in the United States. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was established shortly thereafter in 1946 in the area near the former town site.

The refuge is unique in other ways, too. Among flocks of geese, you find oilrigs. The grasshopper-styled rigs date from 1951 when oil was discovered in nearby Big Mineral Creek. While the Army Corps of Engineers bought the land for the Denison Dam project, they failed to purchase the mineral rights. As a result, privately owned and operated oilrigs have removed millions of gallons of oil and natural gas from the refuge.

So pack your lunch and head out for a winter hike to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. Don’t forget your binoculars and bird book!

Details. Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is located at 6465 Refuge Road, Sherman. It is a day use facility open from sunrise to sunset. Visit the Friends of Hagerman website for information on free tours and talks at the refuge.

Update: Unlike past years, only about 3,000 snow geese are at the refuge this winter (2014). The refuge is still a fabulous place for bird watching. 

Johnson City

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Johnson City, in Texas Hill Country, is a great destination for families. Here are three family-friendly activities you’ll not want to miss during your visit.

Sauer-Beckmann Farm. Travel back in time at the Sauer-Beckmann Farm, a living North Texas Rambling Sauer Beckmann Farmhistory farm located in the Lyndon B Johnson State Park and Historic Site. The farm gives visitors a look at Texas Hill Country life at the turn of the twentieth century. Costumed interpreters perform farm tasks like canning fruits and vegetables, milking, and soap making. A dogtrot styled farmhouse outfitted with turn of the century furnishings offers kids a glimpse into what it might have been like to live in Texas Hill Country a hundred years ago. During my family’s visit, our son shared the chores by fetching eggs from the hen coop. The Sauer-Beckmann Farm is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is no charge for touring the farm though donations are welcome. Nature trails collocated at the farm make for an easy hike, even for small children.

LBJ Ranch Tour. At the Lyndon B Johnson National Park, your family can explore recent American history by taking the LBJ Ranch Tour in your car. An audio CD narrates the tour route and highlights aspects of the Johnson presidency. The tour also examines factors that influenced him during his childhood years. Stop at the re-creation of his birthplace, and visit LBJ and Lady Bird’s gravesides. Learn about his vocation as a schoolteacher and his dedication to education, including the formation of the Head Start program. The tour highpoint is a stop at the Texas White House. Guides conduct tours inside the home from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. The downstairs portion of the house has been restored to its 1960s appearance. The show barn and airplane hangar contain many of LBJ’s automobiles and his presidential plane. The driving tour is free though there is a $3 fee for the Texas White House Tour. You can obtain your driving tour pass and audio CD at the park visitor center.

Exotic Resort Zoo. Take a walk on the wild side at the Exotic Resort Zoo (235 Zoo Trail, Johnson City). The animal park boasts 60 different species and 500 animals. You’ll find the animals on the open range and in a petting zoo environment. Zoo tours are available daily. Tractors pull trailers outfitted with a canopy and seats. Zoo guides narrate the Texas Hill Country safari. Be sure to buy at least one bucket of food pellets for the hour-long tour. Bison, zebra, ostrich, antelope, llama, aoudad and emu abound. The animals converge on the safari mobile for handouts and some will even lop next to the moving vehicle for their treats. Beware the very friendly camels. Omar, the older of two camels, sometimes steals an entire food bucket from unsuspecting visitors. Cabins are available for rental on the zoo property and make an ideal spot for family reunions.

Hangar Hotel

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Strains of Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade softly compliment the evening’s last light as Hangar Hotelwe sip cocktails on the veranda.  The sun appears as a glowing orange orb resting on the hilltops as a Cessna makes its landing approach on the airfield in front of us.  Now, Chattanooga Choo Choo entertains us with its upbeat melody.  Closing our eyes, we travel decades into the past.  Such is the mood set by a stay at the Hangar Hotel in Fredericksburg.

Officers’ Club. Staying at the Hangar Hotel is like stepping back in time to a Bachelor Officer Quarters from World War II.  A converted hangar on the edge of Gillespie County Airport houses this elegantly simple hotel.  Large ceiling fans, antique switchboard, and palm trees greet guests as they check in.  Off the hotel lobby is the Officer’s Club, open weekends.   Rooms are furnished in rusty reds, mossy greens and rich browns.  Weathered leather chairs, vintage style dresser and armoire furnish the room.  Every detail, from drapery pattern to reproduction phone, transports you back in time.  The black and white tiled bathroom completes the setting.  There is even a green, wool army blanket on the bed.  The room television is the only concession to the 21st century.

Details. The Hangar Hotel is located at 155 Airport Road, Fredericksburg. Room rates begin at $119 (weekdays) and $179 (weekends). The hotel offers senior (over 65) and military discounts.  To make a reservation, call (830) 997-9990 or visit the hotel website at hangarhotel.com.