Oak Cliff, Texas

Everything Oak Cliff is known for

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Music in Oak Cliff

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Artists From Oak Cliff

M
Michael Martin Murphey
country Pop: 47

Rivers & Roads in Song near Oak Cliff

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Oak Cliff.

Trinity River 8 songs Interstate 45 2 songs Interstate 20 10 songs Texas State Highway 199 8 songs Interstate 35 27 songs Chisholm Trail 4 songs

History of Oak Cliff

Dallas, TX RoadyGoat

Dallas, situated within the Blackland Prairies of North Texas, owes its early growth to its strategic location. The area, relatively flat at 430 feet above sea level, became a central hub for distributing cotton grown in the fertile black soil. Later, oil further fueled its expansion. Named in 1845 for Vice President George Mifflin Dallas, the city incorporated just over a decade later and evolved into a center for professional and business services. Today, Dallas balances its ambitious spirit with a touch of Southern hospitality. The Dallas Arts District stands as a testament to its cultural aspirations, while the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team," embody the city's passion. The city is a place where big dreams take root.

Dallas, TX RoadyGoat

Dallas, situated in the Blackland Prairies of North Texas, owes its character to a blend of influences. Initially a trading post, its location within the fertile cotton belt drew settlers from the American South, their language and traditions shaping early Dallas culture. The city's later rise as a distribution hub for oil further diversified its population. Though distinct Southern speech patterns have largely faded into a more generalized Texas accent, traces of that heritage persist in the city's hospitality. The modern city reflects a striving spirit, a place where big dreams are pursued against the backdrop of Texas's open sky.

The Trinity River Massacre RoadyGoat

1971

On the night of February 15, 1971, five law-enforcement officers were ambushed and most of them killed in the Trinity River bottoms near the Westmoreland bridge in West Dallas, in what became known as the Trinity River Massacre -- one of the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in the city's history. Ellis County deputies had come to Dallas to serve a burglary warrant on Ingersoll Road, aided by a Spanish-speaking Dallas County deputy. Two suspects pulled guns and tied up the deputies; two more deputies who arrived were also taken captive. The suspects drove all five to the Trinity River bottoms near Westmoreland Road. One deputy, McCurley, escaped to get help, but the four others were shot and only one survived. The killings touched off one of the largest manhunts the state had seen, and the suspects were arrested four days later in a raid on an East Dallas apartment. Both were convicted; their death sentences were later commuted to life. Few markers note the site today -- the deputies' names appear on a fallen-officer memorial at Founders Plaza downtown.

5.2 mi away

Dealey Plaza - JFK Assassination

1963

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in his motorcade through Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963.

Historical Marker →

Parkland Hospital

1963

Dallas first opened a city hospital on Lamar street in 1874, moving to Maple Avenue in the 1890s. In 1913, a new state of the art facility was erected, reflecting a nationwide movement toward modern medical care. The new building was the source of development for the neighborhood as a medical center and also the first home to Southwestern Medical College (now the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School). In 1954, Parkland Hospital relocated to a new facility at 5201 Harry Hines Blvd, where it set standards in healthcare and in medical advances. On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was taken to that facility following his assassination. Today, Parkland Hospital continues to be a leader in providing medical care to the needy.

Historical Marker → · 4.5 mi away

Kennedy Assassination

1963

On November 21, 1963, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy left Washington, D.C., for Texas to attend several official functions, to present his administration's views in personal speeches, and to help reunify the conservative and liberal wings of the Democratic party in Texas. He first flew to San Antonio to join Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in dedicating the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, attended a testimonial dinner in Houston for United States representative Albert Thomas, then flew to Fort Worth and spent the night at Hotel Texas. On the morning of November 22 he addressed a breakfast sponsored by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, then flew to Dallas, where began a motorcade trip in an open car with his wife Jacqueline (Bouvier) Kennedy, Governor John B. Connally , and the governor's wife, Idanell (Brill) Connally . The motorcade travelled through town toward the Dallas Trade Mart, where Kennedy was to speak at a luncheon. At 12:30 P.M., as the car started down the Elm Street hill leading beneath a railroad overpass in Dealey Plaza, several shots were fired, and Kennedy and Connally were hit. They were rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where the president was pronounced dead at 1:00 P.M. from wounds in the neck and head. Connally, wounded in the back, wrist, and thigh, recovered. At 2:38 P.M. Johnson was sworn in as president by United States district judge Sarah T. Hughes , with Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson and Kennedy's widow in attendance, at Love Field on the plane that returned Kennedy's body to Washington that evening. Between 1:45 and 2:00 P.M. of the same day, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in the Texas Theatre in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas and charged with the murder of policemen J. D. Tippit . On November 23 Oswald was charged with murdering Kennedy with a rifle fired from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository . On November 24 Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby , a Dallas lounge operator, in the basement of the city jail while being transferred to the county jail. Ruby was indicted for murder on November 26, 1963, and was convicted on March 14, 1964. The conviction was appealed, and in November, 1966, a new trial with a change of venue was ordered. Ruby died on January 3, 1967, before the second trial began. On November 29, 1963, President Johnson established the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, also known as the Warren Commission, which consisted of seven men representing the United States Supreme Court, Senate, House of Representatives, the public, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the commission met first on December 5, 1963, and submitted its multivolume report on September 24, 1964. From the moment of publication, the report was both criticized and defended vigorously. Hundreds of books and articles have been written on the subject. Skeptics are critical of the commission's inquiry or offer alternate theories about the circumstances and events connected with the assassination. Conversely, many defenders of the Warren report have debunked a number of conspiracy theories. Although the commission concluded that Oswald acted alone, they also noted that it was impossible to prove conclusively that no conspiracy existed. In February 1975, Congressman Henry B. Gonzales introduced House Resolution 204 to convene a House select committee to reexamine the assassinations of President Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. The committee, which met several times between 1977 and 1979, concluded in its final report (July 1979) that JFK "was probably killed as the result of a conspiracy" but admitted that "the Committee was unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy." In 1989 the Sixth Floor Museum was opened in the former Texas School Book Depository building as a museum and memorial to President Kennedy. In 1992, as a result of increased public

Tsha Handbook → · 4.5 mi away

Oswald, Lee Harvey

1963

Lee Harvey Oswald, alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1939, the third son of Marguerite Claverie Oswald. His father, Robert Lee Oswald, had died of a heart attack two months earlier. Young Oswald was placed in a Lutheran orphanage at the age of three, but he was removed when his mother left for Dallas in January 1944 and remarried. His schooling began in Benbrook, Texas, but he reentered the first grade in Covington, Louisiana, in 1946; he continued his education in Fort Worth in January 1947, as a result of his mother's separation and divorce. After he and his mother moved to New York in August 1952, he became a chronic truant and was placed under psychiatric care. They moved again to New Orleans in January 1954; in 1955 Oswald left school and tried unsuccessfully to join the Marine Corps. He found a job and used his spare time to pursue his growing interest in communist literature. He returned to Fort Worth with his mother in July of the following year and in October 1956 joined the Marine Corps. He served fifteen months overseas, mostly in Japan; later he served in California. After an appeal based on the illness of his mother, he was released early from the service in September 1959. A month later Oswald left for the Soviet Union, entering through Finland. He tried to commit suicide when ordered out of Russia, but while attempting to renounce his United States citizenship he was permitted to remain and work in a Russian radio factory. On April 30, 1961, he married Marina Nikolaevna Prusakova. A daughter was born in February 1962, and in June, after prolonged efforts, Oswald was allowed to return with his family to the United States. He lived in Fort Worth until October, when he moved to Dallas. On April 10, 1963, he attempted to kill Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker at the latter's home; the bullet missed Walker by inches. In late April, upon his return to New Orleans, Oswald organized a so-called Fair Play for Cuba Committee. He went to Mexico in September in an unsuccessful effort to get a visa to Cuba and the Soviet Union, and he returned in October to Dallas. A second daughter was born at that time. Oswald was arrested on November 22, 1963, and later charged with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the murder of policeman J. D. Tippit . It was alleged that Oswald positioned himself in a sixth-story window of the Texas School Book Depository and there fired on the motorcade of President Kennedy and Governor John B. Connally . It was also claimed that Oswald killed J. D. Tippit shortly after the assassination while resisting arrest. Oswald was finally arrested in a movie theater that same day in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. Two days later, on November 24, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby in the basement of the city jail while being transferred to the county jail. He was buried in Fort Worth. See also KENNEDY ASSASSINATION .

Tsha Handbook → · 4.5 mi away

Roe v. Wade

1970

A Texas case stands at the center of years of national debate about the issue of abortion. That case, Roe v. Wade , was decided by the United States Supreme Court on January 22, 1973. The ruling basically held that women have a right, under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, to decide whether to continue or to terminate a pregnancy. It overturned a Texas law making all abortions (except those performed to save the life of the woman) illegal, and by implication overturned antiabortion statutes in most other states. The roots of the case lie in Austin, Texas, during the late 1960s. A group of local volunteers were telling women about birth control and how to avoid pregnancy. Their action followed a 1965 Supreme Court case, Griswold v. Connecticut , which overturned state laws making criminal the use of contraception. However, some women who approached them were already pregnant and wanted to know where and how to get an abortion. The volunteers originally wanted to know whether they could legally provide that information, including information about illegal abortion providers in Texas and Mexico, or whether doing so would subject them to possible prosecution as accomplices to the crime of abortion. In March 1970 a suit was filed in Dallas in a three-judge federal district court on behalf of a pregnant woman known as Jane Roe (later identified as Norma McCorvey ) and all other women "who were or might become pregnant and want to consider all options." The suit was against Henry Wade , the district attorney at Dallas, an official responsible for enforcing criminal laws, including antiabortion statutes. The suit asked that the Texas law be declared unconstitutional and that an injunction be issued telling Wade to stop prosecuting doctors who performed abortions. The three-judge court declared that the "freedom to choose in the matter of abortions has been accorded the status of a `fundamental' right in every case the court had examined, and that the burden is on the defendant to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the court that the infringement [by the Texas abortion laws] is necessary to support a compelling state interest." Although this burden was not met and the court declared the Texas law unconstitutional, the court still refused to issue an injunction against Wade. The following day Wade announced that he would continue to prosecute physicians who provided abortion services. Both sides appealed, and eventually the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. The Supreme Court's 1973 decision held that there was a constitutional right of privacy. Seven justices joined the majority opinion written by Justice Harry Blackmun; two justices dissented. The opinion written by Justice Blackmun said in part: The constitution does not explicitly mention any right of privacy. In a line of decisions, however...the Court has recognized that a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy, does exist under the Constitution....These decisions make it clear that only personal rights that can be deemed "fundamental" or "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty"...are included in this guarantee of personal privacy. They also make it clear that the right has some extension to activities relating to marriage...procreation... contraception...family relationships...and child rearing and education. This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. The detriment that the state would impose upon the pregnant woman by denying this choice altogether is apparent. Justices William Rehnquist and Byron White, the two dissenting justices, asserted that there was no right of personal privacy such as that recogniz

Tsha Handbook → · 4.5 mi away

Officer J.D. Tippit

1963

On November 22, 1963, at this intersection, Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit was murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, 45 minutes after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza. After the assassination, Oswald fled to his rooming house in Oak Cliff, in a neighborhood where Officer Tippit was assigned. While on patrol and traveling east on 10th St., having just crossed Patton St., Tippit stopped Oswald, who was walking on the sidewalk. After a brief conversation with him though the passenger window, Tippit exited his police car, at which time Oswald fired three shots across the hood, striking Tippit as he pulled his gun. Oswald then came around the rear of the car and fired a fourth shot. Oswald left the area. Temple Bowley, a citizen, stopped and used Tippit's radio to call for help. Officer Tippit was taken to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Oswald appeared at Hardy's Shoe Store shortly after manager Johnny C. Brewer heard a radio broadcast that a police officer had been shot and killed nearby. Brewer followed Oswald to the Texas Theater, where employee Julia Postal called police due to Brewer's suspicion. There, Oswald attempted to shoot arresting officer M.N. McDonald. Tippit, who left behind a wife and three children, is buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park. In 1964, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor from the National Police Hall of Fame, the Police Medal of Honor, the Police Cross, and the Citizens Traffic Commission Award of Heroism. Although the intersection of 10th and Patton streets has changed, Officer Tippit's actions and subsquent murder at this site are remembered for setting into motion a series of events that led directly to Oswald's arrest. (2012)

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Things to Do in Oak Cliff

historical 2.8 mi away
Dealey Plaza

On November 22 1963 President John F Kennedy rode through Dealey Plaza in an open Lincoln convertible and was shot from the sixth floor window of the Texas…
historical 2.8 mi away
The Sixth Floor Museum

Where Lee Harvey Oswald fired from. The JFK assassination site at Dealey Plaza.
quirky 4.0 mi away
Big Tex at the State Fair

A fifty-five-foot cowboy named Big Tex has welcomed visitors to the State Fair of Texas in Fair Park Dallas every fall since 1952. He booms howdy folks over a…
food 3.4 mi away
Pecan Lodge

Dallas' best BBQ. The beef rib alone is worth the drive.
spooky 7.3 mi away
Lady of White Rock Lake

Since the 1930s drivers along White Rock Lake report picking up a soaking-wet woman in a white dress. She asks for a ride home then vanishes leaving the seat…
historical 23.3 mi away
Southfork Ranch

The filming location of TV's Dallas. JR Ewing lived here.
quirky 23.5 mi away
Southfork Ranch

The Ewing family TV mansion from the Dallas soap opera sits on two hundred acres in Parker Texas and is open for tours every day. JRs bedroom is there. The…

Everything Near Oak Cliff

1253 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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