Before Highway 114 had traffic, before Southlake Town Square was a shopping destination and before Carroll ISD became a successful 6A school system, this city was just land. Native Americans lived and hunted in the area, known as the Eastern Cross Timbers for its thick forests of blackjack and post oak trees.
But after colonization took place around the 1840s and 1850s, many started planting roots around modern-day Southlake, including John Dolford “Bob” Jones.
The man who was born a slave would eventually accumulate approximately 2,000 acres of land around the modern-day Tarrant County-Denton County line. His inspiring story has become a Southlake legacy thanks to those who take the time to honor the man and reflect on his life.
A STORIED LIFE
Born in 1850, Bob Jones’ father was Leazer Alvis Jones. His mother, Elizabeth, was Leazer’s slave, according to the Southlake Historical Society. After moving to modern-day Trophy Club and Westlake in 1860, Bob Jones started working on his father’s property. After herding sheep alongside his brother Jim for years, the two eventually purchased 60 acres of land from their father. Bob eventually bought Jim out and began accumulating what is a little over 3 square miles of land.
William Jones, Bob Jones’ grandson, says that while growing up, he was told stories of his grandfather, who died three years before William was born. Despite listening to these recounts again and again from his dad, grandmother, uncles and aunts as a child, William says he didn’t really appreciate the legacy of his grandfather until he was an adult.
“It was just stories about our grandfather, which we enjoyed, but we didn’t even come close to understanding the things he had accomplished, what he did as far as developing land, raising his cattle, raising racehorses — all the various things that he was doing,” William says. “We just didn’t have a clue.”
Southlake Historical Society
Bob eventually married Almeady Jones, and they had 10 children. As each child was born, they expanded their house. The at-first humble home became a two-story building with four or five bedrooms, a main room, a dining room, a kitchen, a balcony and porches all around, according to the Southlake Historical Society. The family also built Mount Carmel Baptist Church in 1902, which burned down in the ’60s.
Highlighting his reverence for education, Bob Jones also built Walnut Grove Elementary School around 1920. The school was for his grandchildren and other children in the area who couldn’t attend white schools due to racial segregation. Though it closed in 1951 because the students were ready to go to high school, Carroll ISD’s Walnut Grove Elementary School is named in honor of the original school Bob Jones built.
“They really stressed education,” says Anita Robeson, a historian and archivist with the Southlake Historical Society. “And they made sure all their children attended school.”
Bob Jones died in 1936 and around 500 people attended his funeral, according to a newspaper article about the event, proving that Bob Jones’ impact was recognized during as well as after his life.
"His legacy is a love of the land, education, God and his family,” Anita says.
LEGACY IN LAND
Southlake honors the iconic man through the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve, a combination of park property and land owned by the Army Corp of Engineers that opened in 2008 after some of the original property was donated to the city. Stretching more than 750 acres, the preserve includes land Bob Jones owned during his time in Southlake and a former private home, which is now the nature center building.
“This was actually a residential home out here that they were looking to sell to the city,” Kate Meacham, Southlake’s deputy director of community services, says. “Obviously being nestled away — being on the Bob Jones property, next to the Corp and the lake and all of that — the city saw a good opportunity to purchase and make that wider preserve.”
But the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve is more than idle land. There’s no shortage of activities happening on the property. The preserve is open daily, so guests can hike, take photos of animals or plants and enjoy nature whenever they like.
The nature center puts on programs for guests to enjoy that promote education. While guests cannot camp on the property, there are programs that teach camping tips. Another program, forest preschool, works to instill kids with a love of the land through education — two enduring facets of Bob Jones’ legacy.
“It’s this idea that kids can go outside and learn through nature, from nature, at their own speed,” Programs Coordinator Hannah Nyquist says. “So we do the alphabet and we count, but we’re outside exploring the majority of the time.”
This year, the center will focus on outreach and adult programming to educate people about the preserve as a whole to make sure they understand its resources while also spreading awareness about Bob Jones himself.
“That’s part of the awareness thing is making people aware of the preserve but also reiterating Bob Jones’ legacy,” Kate says.
KEEPING HIS MEMORY ALIVE
Guests can walk into the nature center and learn about Bob Jones’ life by reading its walls, detailing his achievements. This year, the center is also commissioning a public art piece about Bob Jones to have on display for its patrons. The Southlake Historical Society is also honoring Bob Jones by hosting a summer exhibit in Southlake Town Hall. Last year, the exhibit featured the first Carroll ISD school, and this year, Bob and Almeady Jones will be remembered.
“Bob Jones’ history is inspirational, interesting and ties into today,” Anita says. “Our goal is to let people know about the history, and we do have a very interesting history in Southlake."
With the rise of companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com, the drive to learn about one’s history has never been stronger.
William Jones
William Jones, Bob Jones' grandson, stands in front of the Bob Jones Nature Center.
“I think we’re all excited to discover our roots and understand what our ancestors actually went through,” William says. “And then we become absolutely amazed at what they could accomplish in the period of time they were living.”
William’s grandfather led a monumental life, and he learned about it thanks to stories passed down by his family. Now, William continues that legacy by telling his kids, nieces and nephews about his grandfather’s triumphs.
“I think now, for the newer generation, they’re much more aware of what those accomplishments were than we were when we were kids growing up,” he says. “We try to make sure that they’re aware of who, even their grandfathers, not only their great-grandfather, is — what my dad and my uncles achieved as well as what my grandfather achieved.”
Even though 84 years has passed since his death, Bob Jones’ spirit is still palpable in Southlake, thanks to his accomplishments and his dedication to making his community better.
“I’m very pleased to see that the area where we grew up has now embraced some of the accomplishments of Bob and Almeady Jones and are paying some attention to that and recording it,” William says. “Because I think it’s important that history includes everyone that lived in that area, not just a few.”