Flower Mound, Texas
Flower Mound is a rapidly expanding city in the North Texas area, approximately six miles north of DFW Airport. Flower Mound was established in 1844 when Sam Houston settled a tribal dispute that ceased Indian raids in the area. Safe from the Indians, permanent settlers began working with the high quality soil, which was suitable for raising cotton, corn, and wheat. Into the 20th century, Flower Mound survived the Great Depression unlike many others in the area. Flower Mound maintained a steady population throughout the first four decades of the twentieth century and became a substantial farming and cattle-raising community.
In the last 20 years, Flower Mound has experienced unprecedented growth. In 1990, the population was merely 15,527. In 2000, the population ballooned to 50,702. As of 2006, there were approximately 64,000 people in Flower Mound. Despite the boom in population, Flower Mound sticks to its small town roots, still considering itself to be “The Town of Flower Mound.” Flower Mound is a “town” noted for its history and landmarks. The town has a tradition that began in the 1800's of naming local features after significant people or geographical areas established in the region's early years, including Long Prairie, Cross Timbers, Chisholm Trail, and the Kirkpatrick, Morris, and Lusk families. Even the 1970’s investor Edward Marcus, whose Kirkpatrick land project suffered foreclosure, has the High School named after him.
One of the more impressive sights in Flower Mound is Parker Square. Consistent with its small town nature, Parker Square was built with the idea of building and maintaining close ties among its residents in the face of rapid expansion. Named after the pioneer David Parker, Parker Square was designed with 1920’s style architecture and offers 345,800 square feet of office and retail space. Remaining true to the ideal Parker Square was built; Flower Mound denied bigger businesses (namely The Gap and Old Navy) retail space in favor of mom and pop stores. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of retail space in Parker Square, several of these businesses have folded. In addition, without an “anchor” store like Old Navy to consistently draw in a mass of customers, it adversely affects the lesser-known stores in Parker Square that would benefit from greater exposure. Due to this, Parker Square has yet to reach its full potential, but remains an excellent place to stroll through with family one night.
One of the biggest attractions in Flower Mound is the actual mound itself. Supposedly, the Indians that once lived in the area used the mound as a holy place. There is a legend that nothing may be built on the mound. One aspect of this legend involves Flower Mound Presbyterian Church. Materials were said to have been stacked on the mound in preparation for the construction of a church building when a tornado swept across the mound, destroying the materials needed to build the church. Believing in the legend, church officials opted to build the church elsewhere. However, this does not correspond to known history of the Flower Mound church site. The few unchallenged facts are that The Town of Flower Mound derived its name from the mound; it is 650 feet above sea level, and rises 50 feet above the land surrounding Tom Thumb and residential homes. In addition, many rare flowers are present on the mound. Texas' eminent historian, the late A.C. Greene, believes the name, Flower Mound, was given to the rise in the 1840s because of an unusual amount of wild flowers that grew on it. Because the early pioneer settlers used The Mound as a hay meadow and never plowed through it, the wild flowers were conspicuously abundant in wet springs. However, wildflowers and native prairie grasses flourish throughout the year on The Mound. The Mound Foundation has identified more than 175 species currently present on the mound
Due to the small town nature of Flower Mound, unfortunately there is not an abundance of “exciting” things to do. As a result, on the weekends it is quite common to see crowds of teenagers gathering in a Wendy’s parking lot—before being dispersed by police. For the younger crowd, Flower Mound can become quite dull. Fortunately, Flower Mound is only a short drive away from more enticing hot spots in the North Texas area. Grapevine Lake is in the southern portion of Flower Mound, which is great during summer months. When traveling through Flower Mound, be sure to obey all traffic laws and have your vehicle up to date. Since crime is extremely low, the police tend to focus their efforts on traffic violators.
In the last 20 years, Flower Mound has experienced unprecedented growth. In 1990, the population was merely 15,527. In 2000, the population ballooned to 50,702. As of 2006, there were approximately 64,000 people in Flower Mound. Despite the boom in population, Flower Mound sticks to its small town roots, still considering itself to be “The Town of Flower Mound.” Flower Mound is a “town” noted for its history and landmarks. The town has a tradition that began in the 1800's of naming local features after significant people or geographical areas established in the region's early years, including Long Prairie, Cross Timbers, Chisholm Trail, and the Kirkpatrick, Morris, and Lusk families. Even the 1970’s investor Edward Marcus, whose Kirkpatrick land project suffered foreclosure, has the High School named after him.
One of the more impressive sights in Flower Mound is Parker Square. Consistent with its small town nature, Parker Square was built with the idea of building and maintaining close ties among its residents in the face of rapid expansion. Named after the pioneer David Parker, Parker Square was designed with 1920’s style architecture and offers 345,800 square feet of office and retail space. Remaining true to the ideal Parker Square was built; Flower Mound denied bigger businesses (namely The Gap and Old Navy) retail space in favor of mom and pop stores. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of retail space in Parker Square, several of these businesses have folded. In addition, without an “anchor” store like Old Navy to consistently draw in a mass of customers, it adversely affects the lesser-known stores in Parker Square that would benefit from greater exposure. Due to this, Parker Square has yet to reach its full potential, but remains an excellent place to stroll through with family one night.
One of the biggest attractions in Flower Mound is the actual mound itself. Supposedly, the Indians that once lived in the area used the mound as a holy place. There is a legend that nothing may be built on the mound. One aspect of this legend involves Flower Mound Presbyterian Church. Materials were said to have been stacked on the mound in preparation for the construction of a church building when a tornado swept across the mound, destroying the materials needed to build the church. Believing in the legend, church officials opted to build the church elsewhere. However, this does not correspond to known history of the Flower Mound church site. The few unchallenged facts are that The Town of Flower Mound derived its name from the mound; it is 650 feet above sea level, and rises 50 feet above the land surrounding Tom Thumb and residential homes. In addition, many rare flowers are present on the mound. Texas' eminent historian, the late A.C. Greene, believes the name, Flower Mound, was given to the rise in the 1840s because of an unusual amount of wild flowers that grew on it. Because the early pioneer settlers used The Mound as a hay meadow and never plowed through it, the wild flowers were conspicuously abundant in wet springs. However, wildflowers and native prairie grasses flourish throughout the year on The Mound. The Mound Foundation has identified more than 175 species currently present on the mound
Due to the small town nature of Flower Mound, unfortunately there is not an abundance of “exciting” things to do. As a result, on the weekends it is quite common to see crowds of teenagers gathering in a Wendy’s parking lot—before being dispersed by police. For the younger crowd, Flower Mound can become quite dull. Fortunately, Flower Mound is only a short drive away from more enticing hot spots in the North Texas area. Grapevine Lake is in the southern portion of Flower Mound, which is great during summer months. When traveling through Flower Mound, be sure to obey all traffic laws and have your vehicle up to date. Since crime is extremely low, the police tend to focus their efforts on traffic violators.
