Preston Hollow, Dallas

Beginning in the 1850s, the first settlers began receiving land grants for Preston Hollow’s land. Among them were the Lively family on Guernsey Lane, the Howell family, and the Meaders family. Other smaller farms, such as the dairy farm at 6303 Meadow, were also in Preston Hollow. In the 1920s, the first people started moving to Preston Hollow for residential purposes. Ralph Stichter was the first, purchasing many acres at the northeast corner of Preston and Walnut Hill. He built two estates on his property, one right at the corner and another at what is now 6126 Lakehurst, which still stands, in 1922. In 1924, DeLoache bought a farm; Preston Hollow's first lots were carved out of the former farm parcels. He built his real estate office at what is now Ebby’s Little White House in 1926. The developers intended Preston Hollow to be what Box said was "more than a flatland suburb on the fringes of a new and growing Dallas." Provisioned by the Preston Road Fresh Water Supply District, the North Dallas town of Preston Hollow was named for the dark wooded area with creeks and hollows extending westward from Preston Road. The westward boundary is generally agreed to be Marsh Lane.[4] In 1945, Preston Hollow residents voted to join the city of Dallas, a covenant was enacted in 1956 for 17 lots in the James Meaders Estates subdivision of Preston Hollow, which stated that only white residents were allowed to live on those lots unless they were "domestic servants of a different race or nationality in the employ of a tenant." In July 2000 the residents repealed this restriction. In September 2008, Preston Hollow returned to national headlines when New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams wrote a column claiming that U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife Laura had purchased a home in Preston Hollow. Described as "a big house on five acres," Adams also claimed that this house would have "horse stables, lake views, mountain views, golf club views" and that Preston Hollow is "a town outside Dallas." (perhaps, most glaringly, Dallas's location in a non-mountainous region of Texas) and noted that the real estate agent cited denied both the report or that the Post had ever contacted her. ==Residents==

Politicians include former U.S. President George W. Bush, former Dallas mayors Tom Leppert and Laura Miller and her husband, retired Texas legislator Steve Wolens; and Christina Crain, the namesake of the Christina Crain Unit women's prison and former chairperson of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. Business executives included the late Ross Perot, energy tycoon the late T. Boone Pickens, Stream Energy Chairman Rob Snyder, and included the investor the late Harold Simmons. Sports and entertainment figures include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, former Dallas Cowboys football coach Wade Phillips, golfer Lee Trevino, golfer Jordan Spieth, and current Dallas Stars player Tyler Seguin. Noted residents of Old Preston Hollow who are now deceased include ClubCorp founder Robert H. Dedman Sr., trial lawyer and Democratic Party fundraiser Fred Baron and his wife Lisa Blue Baron, and Mary Kay founder Mary Kay Ash. Neo-Nazi Richard B. Spencer grew up in Preston Hollow. ==Cityscape==

Preston Hollow is located north of Downtown Dallas. Preston Road is the main arterial road in the area. Terry Box of The Dallas Morning News said in 1987 that the corridor Preston Road travels through, between the Northwest Highway and the LBJ Freeway, is referred to as the "golden corridor" of Dallas due to its wealth. Mary Jacobs of The Dallas Morning News noted that area real estate agents usually define the boundaries of Preston Hollow as the Northwest Highway, Royal Lane, Hillcrest Road, and Midway Road. Most of east Preston Hollow is under the jurisdiction of two homeowners associations: Preston Hollow East and Preston Hollow North. Eastern Preston Hollow is divided into several lots. The houses in eastern and northern Preston Hollow include some original two stories but mainly ranch houses from the 1930s, 1940s, or even 1950s Preston Hollow East consists of the single-family houses in an area bounded by the Dallas North Tollway, Hillcrest Road, Joyce Way, and Del Norte Lane. ==Government and infrastructure==

Preston Hollow’s city hall, which was used until the town of Preston Hollow was annexed by Dallas in 1945, is now an office for Ebby Halliday Realtors. Fire Station #27, which opened in 1948, is adjacent to Preston Hollow. The United States Postal Service operates the Preston Post Office. ==Economy==

Preston Center, a commercial area, is located close to Preston Hollow. The development includes two 20-story office towers that opened during a construction boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s. As of 1989, many of the Preston Center buildings were partially vacant. During that year, Terry Box of The Dallas Morning News said that the empty buildings were "viewed as intrusive symbols of the city's failure to control its growth" and "have come to exemplify much of what is wrong with North Dallas." Around that time, residents tried to pressure area politicians into making the development more low-rise and further removed from the Preston Hollow community. The Dallas Galleria and the NorthPark Center are in proximity to Preston Hollow. ==Education==

Public schools Dallas Independent School District (DISD) operates local public schools. Elementary schools serving areas in Preston Hollow include John J. Pershing (in Mayflower Estates), Preston Hollow (in Preston Hollow North Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy, and Harry C. Withers. Residents zoned to Pershing and Preston Hollow are zoned to Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Hillcrest High School. Residents zoned to Walnut Hill are zoned to Medrano Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School. Residents zoned to Withers are zoned to E.D. Walker Middle School and W.T. White High School. Withers has a Spanish-English dual-language program. As of 2013, this program has a waiting list, and the school has a lottery system. Walnut Hill School and Walker Middle also have Spanish-English dual-language programs. Histories of schools Walnut Hill School, later Walnut Hill Elementary School and now Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy, opened in the 1910s and moved to its current location in 1938. It was the first school to serve Preston Hollow kids. Hillcrest High School opened in 1938 and Preston Hollow Elementary opened in 1945-1946. Franklin and Pershing opened in the 1950s. Preston Hollow, and Walnut Hill served sections of the Preston Hollow area. Residents zoned to Preston Hollow and Pershing were zoned to Franklin Middle School and Hillcrest High School. Residents zoned to Walnut Hill were zoned to Cary Middle School and Thomas Jefferson High School. In Fall 2006, the attendance boundaries changed, with a portion of the former Walnut Hill zone being rezoned to Withers. The Withers section was rezoned from Cary and Thomas Jefferson to Walker Middle School and W.T. White High School. In 2006, Preston Hollow Elementary School achieved notoriety after a lawsuit claiming the school's class-assignment policies violated the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision. Judge Sam Lindsay ruled in November that the school's practices were not legal because they attempted to keep white students together even if minority students had to be placed in inappropriate courses; this ruling was miscited in at least one local paper as indicating that "all-white" classes had been created. Cary Middle was disestablished in 2020 after a 2019 tornado destroyed the campus, with Medrano and Franklin taking portions of the boundary. Private schools As of 2007, many Preston Hollow residents send their children to private schools. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas operates area Catholic schools. Ursuline Academy of Dallas, a Catholic girls' high school, is located in the Estate area of Preston Hollow. Non-Catholic private schools within Preston Hollow North include St. Mark's School of Texas (1–12) and Preston Hollow Presbyterian School (1–6). Private Catholic schools in the surrounding area include Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas (Boys, 9–12),Christ the King Catholic School (K-8), St. Rita Catholic School (K-8) and St. Monica Catholic School (K-8). Other private schools in the surrounding area include Episcopal School of Dallas (PreK-12), Hockaday School (PreK-12, Girls), Parish Episcopal School (PreK-12), and Good Shepherd Episcopal School (PreK-8). Three co-ed, nonsectarian private schools exist in Dallas that do not require uniforms, the Greenhill School (boys and girls k-12) in Addison, Lakehill Preparatory School in East Dallas, and Alcuin School all of which serve as an option for parents who want to send their children to schools not backed by a religious organization. Nonsectarian co-ed private school Dallas International School Churchill Way Campus (TPS 2 year old-4th Grade) Waterview Campus (5th-12th Grade). Colleges and universities Preston Hollow is within the Dallas County Community College District. Southern Methodist University is in proximity to Preston Hollow. It first opened in 1964. Its roof has arches above, and according to Andrew Scoggin of The Dallas Morning News, this makes the library appear distinct compared to others in the library system. , there is no funding for a new library building intended to replace the current library. ==Parks and recreation==

The City of Dallas operates two neighborhood parks, Netherland Park and Preston Hollow Park. The Preston Hollow Park includes two baseball/softball fields, one soccer/football field, two tennis courts, one playground, seven picnic tables, and trails. The Netherland Park includes two tennis courts and trails. Preston Hollow East and Preston Hollow North, two homeowners associations that cover most of eastern Preston Hollow, organize recreational activities such as book clubs and chess games. ==Media==

The Dallas Morning News is the local citywide newspaper. The locally produced Preston Hollow newspaper is also distributed to residents of Preston Hollow. A book, Preston Hollow: A Brief History, written by a Preston Hollow resident, covers the history of the neighborhood. == Notes and references ==