Elmwood (Dallas)

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Elmwood is a picturesque North Oak Cliff neighborhood of charming homes and expansive parks. The community is located on gently rolling, tree-shaded hills above the limestone banks of Cedar Creek. This land was once the Tennessee Farm dairy. Consisting of 640 acres, the dairy was a corporate operation and a modern, sanitary facility that provided milk to Dallas and the surrounding vicinity. Remnants of the farm exist to this day, including a house on Brunner reputed to be the dairy foremans quarters and portions of an old stone wall that divided the farm, which are visible along the 1700 block of S. Edgefield, near Elmwood Blvd.

Frank Jester, the original developer, purchased the farm in 1924 and building continued into the 1950s. Due to this thirty-year span of development, a variety of architectural styles are represented in Elmwood. These include: Tudor cottages with unique exterior treatments of brick and stone and sometimes lovely stained glass windows; craftsman bungalows; 1930s cottages of brick or wood; and a variety of ranch style houses from the 1940s and 50s, made of stone, brick or wood.

Elmwood Park is a focal point of the neighborhood. The park follows Cedar Creek on the northern edge of the neighborhood and then runs south along Elmwood Creek through the middle of the neighborhood. The park is full of mature pecan, oak, elm, and hackberry trees and is home to a variety of birds and wildlife. The park has play equipment, open spaces for sports, and is a popular place for walking dogs and jogging as well.

Elmwood also has its own small business district along Edgefield Drive. This area features a collection of unique small commercial buildings, professional offices, a Masonic Hall and a couple of churches. In 1988, this location was used for the filming of the Main Street sequences in the movie Born on the Fourth of July.

With its expansive parks and greenbelts, it is easy to forget that Elmwood lies only minutes south of downtown Dallas. Convenient freeway access and two DART rail stations serving the neighborhood put all the amenities of the city within easy reach of Elmwood. Its excellent location, quality housing stock, park-like surroundings and good neighbors, make Elmwood a serene and pleasant area in which to live.

[1]Elmwood Neighborhood Association Website

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