Pleasant Grove, Dallas facts for kids

Pleasant Grove is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of Dallas, Texas. It's like a special area within the big city. It has clear boundaries: Bruton Road to the north, Marvel Drive to the south, Prairie Creek to the east, and the Trinity Forest to the west.

History

Pleasant Grove has a long history! The first people settled here in the 1840s. Some of these early settlers were W. B. Elam, Richard Bruton, and Cornelius Cox.

By 1875, a wooden building served as both a church and a school. In the 1880s, a teacher named Don Lebow taught at one of the schools. He named the school "Pleasant Grove" because it was located in a pretty area with many cottonwood trees. Soon, the whole community started using that name too!

In 1900, a map of Dallas County showed Pleasant Grove as a small community with just one store. By 1916, the first school building made of brick was built.

In 1937, Pleasant Grove created its own school district. By the late 1940s, this district had fourteen school buildings.

After World War II, many new homes were built. This caused the population to grow a lot! From 1943 to 1952, the number of people living in Pleasant Grove jumped from 120 to 3,500.

By the late 1940s, Pleasant Grove had seven businesses, including a new bank. In 1952, a big shopping center called Pleasant Grove Shopping Center was built.

Pleasant Grove residents voted twice against becoming an official town. But in June 1954, Dallas decided to make Pleasant Grove a part of the city. At the same time, the Pleasant Grove school district joined the Dallas Independent School District.

In 1962, the Greater Pleasant Grove Chamber of Commerce was started. This group helped local businesses. Later, it grew to include nearby communities and became the Southeast Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Education

Pleasant Grove is part of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD).

Primary and secondary schools

Here are some of the middle schools that have served students in Pleasant Grove:

• S. S. Conner Junior High (1953 - 1963)
• John B. Hood Junior High School (1955 - 2016)
• Fred F. Florence Middle School (1963 - 2018)
• Ann Richards Middle School (since 2012)
• Piedmont G.L.O.B.A.L. Academy (since 2016, used to be John B. Hood Junior High)
• Young Men's Academy at Fred Florence (since 2018)

These are some of the high schools that have served students from Pleasant Grove:

• Pleasant Grove High School (1937-1956)
• W. W. Samuell High School (since 1956)
• H. Grady Spruce High School (since 1963)
• Skyline Center Magnet School (since 1971)

There are also several charter schools that serve students in Pleasant Grove:

• A+ Academy Secondary School
• Inspired Vision Elementary School
• Inspired Vision Secondary School
• Golden Rule Pleasant Grove
• KIPP Pleasant Grove
• Nova Charter School
• Texas Can Academy
• Inspired Vision Intermediate
• Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Junior High School Academy
• Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep (since 2015)

DISD also runs the Pleasant Grove Stadium, where many sports events take place.

Colleges and universities

Pleasant Grove has a branch of Eastfield College. This college is part of the Dallas County Community College District. You can find it at 802 N Buckner Boulevard.

Libraries

The people of Pleasant Grove can use two public libraries:

• Pleasant Grove Library Branch - Dallas Public Library
  • Address: 7310 Lake June Rd.
• Prairie Creek Library Branch - Dallas Public Library
  • Address: 9609 Lake June Rd.

Notable people

Many famous people have connections to Pleasant Grove!

Maceo Demond Baston

• Maceo Baston grew up in Pleasant Grove. He went to Nancy Moseley Elementary School and later played basketball for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA.
• John Ford Coley is a musician. He was part of a duo with Dan Seals. One of their big hits was "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight".
• Larry Johnson is a former NBA basketball player. He grew up in Pleasant Grove and went to John B. Hood Middle School and Skyline High School.
• Michael Johnson also went to Skyline High School. He became a very famous US Olympic Gold Medalist, setting many world records in sprinting.
• Russ Martin was a radio host for The Russ Martin Show in Dallas.
• C.J. Miles played for the Utah Jazz. He grew up in Pleasant Grove and went to Skyline Career Development Center. In his senior year of high school, he was chosen for the McDonald's all-high school team.
• Dan Seals was a country and pop musician.