Adapted from the "Handbook of Texas" published by the Texas State Historical Society
Grapevine, is located along State Highways 114 and 121 in the northeastern corner of Tarrant County. Some small sections of the city extend into Dallas and Denton counties. Grapevine is north of the West Fork of the Trinity River and lies on the edge of the Grapevine Prairie and the Eastern Cross Timbers. Grapevine Lake extends from northern Grapevine into neighboring Denton County to the north.
The first permanent Anglo settlement in the Grapevine area was known as the “Missouri Colony.” In 1844 a group of “related families from Platte County, Missouri,” settled along Denton Creek in the vicinity of present-day Grapevine on land that was then part of the Peters Colony. By July 1846 children were receiving their education from John Allen Freeman in a log schoolhouse. The first church in the area was the Lonesome Dove Baptist Church, founded in 1846 and located about five miles northwest of Grapevine. Grapevine First Baptist Church was established in the early 1850s.
Around 1854 Judge James Tracy Morehead, Archibald Franklin Leonard, and Henry L. Suggs, among others, met for the purpose of laying out a town and establishing a post office. Morehead proposed the name “Grape Vine,” due to the settlement’s location on the Grapevine Prairie. Leonard, who operated the first store in town, was appointed the first postmaster. Grape Vine (as two words) was incorporated on February 12, 1907. The United States Post Office condensed the name to just one word, Grapevine, in 1914.
The first houses built in Grapevine were simple log cabins occupied by settlers. Later the “typical 19th-century Grapevine house was a one-story wood-frame dwelling…topped with a gable or hipped roof.” Prior to the Civil War, cattle raising was the primary source of economic activity in the region. Grapevine Masonic Lodge No. 288 was chartered in 1866. In 1869 the Grapevine Independent School District was established; its first school was the Grapevine Masonic Institute, built by the Grapevine Masonic Lodge.
In the late 1860s and 1870s, improvements to the plow allowed Grapevine farmers to cut through the black soils of the prairie and cultivate a variety of crops. By the mid-1880s Grapevine had a population of approximately 550. The town had, according to the Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory of 1884–85, three gristmills and cotton gins, a public school, four physicians, Methodist and Baptist churches, and a number of businesses, including grocers, drugstores, blacksmiths, a hotel, and an art gallery. Daily stages traveled, at a rate of five cents per mile, to Dallas and Fort Worth. In 1888 the St. Louis, Arkansas, and Texas Railway arrived and provided a way for farmers to get their products to broader markets. The railroad transformed Grapevine into an agricultural trade center and facilitated the development of cotton as a cash crop in the region. The town’s commercial district, consisting of single-story and two-story brick buildings, developed throughout the 1880s and 1890s.
Grapevine’s first local newspaper was the Grapevine Globe, established sometime before its sale in 1882. The Grapevine Sun, established by future Grapevine mayor Benjamin Richard Wall in 1895, was in publication until the 21st century. The town showed growth into the early twentieth century, with population figures of 681 in 1910 and 821 in 1920. In 1921 the Grapevine Fire Department was chartered, but, as in preceding decades, the community was dependent on volunteer firefighters. (Grapevine’s first paid fire chief was hired in 1973.) The first public library opened on March 3, 1923, as part of the Tarrant County Free Library.
In 1948 the United States Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the Grapevine Dam for the purpose of “flood control, recreation, and a water supply.” The reservoir project, which created Grapevine Lake, was completed in 1952. The town’s population grew from 1,043 in 1940 to 2,821 by 1960.
In 1965 the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth joined together to construct Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport (see DALLAS-FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT) immediately southeast of Grapevine. The city responded by annexing land to protect its local interests, resulting in a sizable portion of the airport falling within Grapevine’s extended city limits. The airport is the city’s top employer and opened in 1974 and began offering international flights in 1985. Between 1970 and 1990, the population of Grapevine ballooned from 7,023 to 29,198.
Grapevine was served by town marshals until 1956, when the position of chief of police was created. The first chief of police was John Baze, who headed a four-man department. Since 2017 the Grapevine police, fire department, city jail, and municipal court have shared space in a four-story public safety building. Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District serves most of the cities of Grapevine and Colleyville as well as several surrounding communities and is one of the highest-rated school districts in the state.
The Grapevine Historical Society has been active since it was chartered in 1974. In 1991 Grapevine implemented a historic preservation ordinance to protect the city’s architectural heritage. The ordinance created the Grapevine Historic Preservation Commission and outlined a process by which historic districts and landmarks in Grapevine are designated. The Grapevine Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on historical preservation and education which operates as part of the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau, was also incorporated in 1991.
Prepared & provided by Sallie Andrews
1843 Sam Houston and representatives of the Republic of Texas meet with members of 10 American Indian nations to sign a treaty of peace and friendship at Grapevine Springs. Finalized at Birds Fort and called the Treaty of Birds Fort, the document opened north Texas for settlement.
1844 First settlers arrive on the Grape Vine Prairie.
1854 With the intention of naming the town and arranging for a post office, Judge Morehead recommends the name "Grape Vine" because of the proximity to Grape Vine Springs, the Grape Vine Prairie and because of the prolific wild mustang grapes abundant in the area.
1888 Cotton Belt Railroad reaches Grapevine.
1891 Wallis Hotel built to serve the railroad (Main and Hudgins where Oyster Bar is now, 2004, located)
1900 First rural telephone is installed by J. E. Foust, Sr. Many of the brick buildings on Main Street are constructed. Population - 500
1902 Farmers & Merchants Milling Co. is organized, later (in 1936) to become B&D Mills.
1907 Grapevine is incorporated on Feb. 12, 1907. Bart Starr, Sr., is elected Mayor. William Madison Bennett is named first Town Marshall.
1908 Volunteer fire department is started.
1909 Wall brothers dig a water well and installed a few water lines to the homes east of Main Street. W. T. Bigbee was authorized to spend $4.50 for the purchase of a set of handcuffs. He was also authorized to construct the calaboose. Telephone service for community begins in March, furnished by J. E. Foust.
1910 Ice plant opens at the mill. Grapevine gets electric service as far south as the Depot.
1917 A REO fire truck is purchased with soda and acid tanks. It was the first motorized fire truck owned by the city.
1925 City drilled a Paluxy water well and constructed an above-ground water tower * the start of a water works system.
1930 Population 936
1932 Northwest Highway is opened.
1932 Grapevine Home Bank is robbed by J. Les "Red" Stewart and Odell Chambless, colleagues of Bonnie and Clyde.
1933 Aeromotor watertower/windmill erected on Silver Lake Farm on Ruth Wall road. In 1999 it is moved to the Heritage Center.
1934 Bonnie and Clyde kill two state highway patrolmen, E. B. Wheeler and H. D. Murphy at Highway 114 and Dove Road. They are later tracked down and killed in Louisiana in the same year.
1940 Jerome Kirby Buckner constructs the Palace Theatre on Main Street.
1947 Planning begins for Lake Grapevine.
1952 Lake Grapevine is completed and opened.
1957 Cotton Belt Section House (built in 1888) is closed and moved to Hall Johnson Road. It is moved back to Main Street and restored in 1992.
1960 Population 2,823
1965 Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Airport site selected. Two/thirds of the airport is located within Grapevine city limits.
1970 Population 7,049
1972 Cotton Belt closes Grapevine depot for business. Grapevine Garden Club steps forward to save it from destruction and ultimately forms the Grapevine Historical Society from its membership.
1974 Airport opens
1980 Population 11,801
1984 Grapevine becomes a member of the Texas Main Street Program
1986 Gazebo is constructed on Main Street by the Main Street merchants.
1990 Population 29,202
1991 Grapevine Heritage Foundation is incorporated
1991 Replica of Wallis Hotel is constructed at Main and Texas Streets as the new home of the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau.
1992 Railroad Turntable is purchased at a price of $1 for the Grapevine Historic Railroad from the Santa Fe Railroad and moved from Saginaw to Grapevine.
1995 Grapevine Blacksmith Shop is opened at Heritage Center * a replica of Charlie Millican's Blacksmith shop that was located at Main and Texas streets.
1996 Walking To Texas fountain is dedicated in Liberty Park. Mayor Tate gives stirring presentation about pioneer spirit during the nighttime dedication. Puffy, Locomotive Engine #2248, constructed 1896 at the Cook Locomotive Works in Patterson, New Jersey is moved to Grapevine 100 years to the day of its birthday * August 29, 1996.
1997 Grapevine Mills Mall opens. New Grapevine City Hall opens! Grapevine Night Watchman statue is dedicated atop City Hall. He is 8 feet tall and weighs 640 pounds!
1999 Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World opens.
2000 Population 42,149
2000 On Memorial Day, the Homecoming statue is dedicated at the Depot in honor of those who have served in the armed forces.
2003 A new WalMart and Sam's Club open in Grapevine
2004 Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center on Lake Grapevine opens on April 2, 2004.
2005 Grand Hyatt opens at DFW Airport New International Terminal opens at DFW Airport
2010 Population 46,334