Renner, Dallas
Renner is a section of Dallas, Texas within southwestern Collin County that was once a distinct rural community of about 10 square miles and housed the center of a nonprofit agricultural research organization.[1]
The namesake of the community, John A. Renner, developed townsites along the Cotton Belt line. A post office appeared in 1888.
Renner faced financial difficulties in the mid 1970's due to insufficient water infrastructure and was forced to lay off most of small police force. The penultimate mayor, Ronald Lloyd Hartline (b. 1937) was killed in 1976 by a shotgun to the chest by Sam McDonald in Bonham, TX after a dispute over land on December 13, 1976 [1]. Hartline was a son of the town and his father Newt(on) "Lucky" Hartline (1887-1978) once served as mayor in the past. The final mayor, Harvey Miles took over from Hartline and maintained the position through a final election in which both he and his opponent received 77 votes each (DMN, Jan 20, 1977). One of Miles' last actions appears to have been to allow some residents to annex nonessential portions of the street to their properties. Miles handed the keys to the Renner town hall to Dallas City Manager George Schrader on April 4, 1977 (DMN, April 5, 1977) After this, the city of Dallas began annexing Renner and by 1983 had completed the process..[1] A total of 36 streets, including streets in the recently platted fields, were renamed so as not to duplicate street names of Dallas proper. First and Second Streets became "Ronnie" and "Newt" after the Hartlines and a third street, "Frank Jackson" is named after a prominent settler. (DMN, July 8, 1977)
Although the main residential portion of Renner mostly comprised a small triangle between McCallum (Wells) Blvd and the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, the agricultural portions of Renner extended North to Plano and East to include the agricultural research station, which is now a campus of the University of Texas at Dallas. The town also had a small bit of territory on the south side of McCallum Blvd. Land as far West as Midway was under the jurisdiction of Renner. Before absorption into Dallas, Renner had platted some of the agricultural portions for housing development.
Renner is currently home to many cleared lots featuring a variety of automobiles in a charming assortment of states of disrepair but the City of Dallas has plans to revitalize the area and use the existing freight line for a light rail.
AT&T's Renner switch includes several exchanges that now serve North Dallas but that once served the community of Renner. For example, the current "733" exchange was originally "Renner 3" or simply "RE3."
Government and infrastructure
Renner is within the North Central Division of the Dallas Police Department, which is headquartered at 6969 McCallum Boulevard.[2][3]
Education
Renner is within the Plano Independent School District. The area is zoned to:[4]
- Jackson Elementary School
- Frankford Middle School
- Shepton High School
- Plano West Senior High School
Dallas Public Library operates the Renner Frankford Branch Library.
References
- ^ a b Carlisle, Candace. "Small towns disappearing across North Texas prairie." Denton Record-Chronicle. Friday February 15, 2008. Retrieved on July 26, 2010.
- ^ "North Central Beats Sectors and Major Streets." Dallas Police Department. Accessed October 10, 2008.
- ^ "North Central Operations Division." Dallas Police Department. Accessed October 10, 2008.
- ^ "Map of Plano West Senior High Feeder Schools." Plano Independent School District.
External links
- [2] The Paris News, Page 2 December 14, 1976