Lewisville’s Centennial
Celebrating a centennial comes once in a lifetime, and in Lewisville, we are marking 100 years of history.
I have been fortunate to call Lewisville my home for many years. It is the city where I raised my family, built my career, served as mayor, and am now honored to serve as county commissioner. It is home to an estimated 138,000-plus people — a far cry from the 1,500 population in 1950, just 25 years into its birth.
In the early 1990s, as I joined the City Council, population totals jumped to more than 46,000. And by the time I left the mayor’s position, it had doubled to 90,000.
Today, as we continue to see Lewisville’s evolution and growth, it is the perfect opportunity to also reminisce about the past. The old and new intertwine tradition with the promise of tomorrow.
A shining example is what many know as Old Town Lewisville. Old photographs depict a bustling downtown serving a farming community with Jacobsen’s Hardware, First National Bank of Lewisville, Degan Livery Stable (later the Lewisville Feed Mill), Lewisville Hotel, Cobb Cleaners, Kings Drug Store, and many others.
At Main and Mill streets, the Prairie House Restaurant preserves the look and feel of the former Lewisville Feed Mill owned by James Polser, who served as the city’s historian, collecting news clippings and photographs and regaling us with stories.
Remnants of the original Kings Drug store on Main Street can be seen in Beasley’s Fine Jewelry, a business passed down among generations of women.
One day soon, current Lewisville Mayor T.J. Gilmore plans to open a family-owned and operated ice cream store in Old Town, adding flavor to the already bustling downtown area. These and other projects create a vibrant economic environment that sets Lewisville apart, establishing its own unique identity amid a sea of urban sprawl.
Terry Sullivan’s Old Town BBQ – a well-known hangout among local leaders – continues in the same vein as Dickie Grant’s Old Town Meat Market – serving tasty entrees with local lore from The Terry Sullivan Show, a YouTube phenomenon featuring weekly interviews.
The history of Lewisville is captured with stones placed along the sidewalks of Wayne Ferguson Plaza, which pays tribute to a longtime resident and former mayor who helped preserve Old Town and shape the city where it is today.
City officials kept memories of the Fighting Farmer state championships alive by renaming part of Main Street along the I-35E bridge as Fighting Farmers Way. The bridge, now under construction, will sport murals paying tribute to our champion Fighting Farmers and other historic times.
As we look ahead, we see the changing skyline of Old Town Lewisville, bringing new people to enjoy the rich heritage that has been preserved through years of careful planning – from moving City Hall west to east of the interstate and preserving the hometown feel with the addition of the Lewisville Grand Theater in 2011 as well as artwork throughout the city.
Lewisville Lake and the surrounding Lake District continue to be a major cornerstone for the city – a very popular area that attracts numerous visitors year-round and is known as a great place for bass fishing, water skiing and enjoying a family outing.
City, school, and other officials worked to preserve an estimated 2,600 acres of Blackland Prairie and Eastern Cross Timbers ecosystems as part of the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area. This nature preserve features camping, trails, and a restored and furnished Log House that showcases frontier life in the late 1800s.
Soon, the new Tittle-McFadden Public Safety Center at Main and Valley Parkway will establish Lewisville as one among few to combine police and fire in one 116,000-square-foot facility.
When others think of Lewisville, Interstate 35E might come to mind. But for those of us who have lived here, we feel the camaraderie of a community built on 100 years of commitment to creating a home where we come together as one.
