Section Foreman's House

This wood-frame house would have been built in 1888, the same year that the railroad first came to Grapevine. It served as a residence for the man whose job was to ensure that this section of Cotton Belt railroad track, between Grapevine and the nearby communities of Coppell and Smithfield (now Colleyville) was in proper working order, so that mail, goods, and passengers could safely reach their destinations. The Section Foreman and a typical crew of four linemen worked the tracks daily, traveling via a handcar.

The house was constructed by the railroad company according a standard company plan: a living room, dining area, kitchen and bedroom downstairs, and dormitory-style sleeping quarters upstairs. For seven decades, multiple foremen and their families made this their home, among them G. R. Redman, Walter Landreth, James Harris, Grover Miller and others.

By the late 1950s railroad traffic declined because of the automobile, meaning the local Section Foreman's job was no longer needed. And so the house was moved to Hall-Johnson Road in south Grapevine, where it served as a private residence until 1990.

In 1993 this building was acquired by the Grapevine Heritage Foundation, trucked back to this location, restored, and reopened in 1996.