Southlake Live Cam

Southlake is known as a modern suburb, with rapid growth and development that caused a thriving community tio sprout from the Texas dirt virtually overnight. Despite the rapid growth in recent years, however, Southlake actually has a colorful history that extends more than 150 years. Following is a brief time line of Southlake history.

Although Southlake is the fastest growing city in Tarrant County today, imagine how it appeared in 1845 when the first settlers arrived -- a vast canvas of land and trees where the grand prairie and the cross timbers merge. As the site of the first permanent settlement in Tarrant County, a portion of present day Southlake was homesteaded in 1866. It is located on Dove Street and consisted of 360 acres. Keeping with the time, the primary industry was agriculture; farmers grew peanuts, grains and cotton, and families raised their own livestock.

The area that would become Southlake remained a rural farming community for more than 100 years until 1952, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Lake Grapevine. The lake spurred much of the area's early growth and was the beginning of change. The town officially incorporated on September 25, 1956, by a public vote of 30 in favor and 24 against. The original town contained 1.62 square miles and had a population of just over 100. The original town consisted of property located between F.M. 1709 and S.H. 114 -- both two-lane roads -- in the area now known as Village Center. The residents chose to call this new town Southlake because it was, south of Lake Grapevine!

The Southlake Fire Department was launched in 1965 with the first piece of fire equipment, a 1950 Diamond T-Military unit with tank capacity of 1,000 gallons and an auxiliary pump. The first chief of police was hired in 1966, and the City purchased its first patrol car in 1967.

The opening of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 served as the next catalyst of growth in the area and Southlake residents adopted a home-rule charter in April 1987, which created the current council-manager form of government. But the single most important event in bringing residential subdivision development to Southlake was the completion of water and sewer lines in the southern portion of the city in the early 1990's. Since that time, much like the area's first settlers were attracted to the area with its endless possibilities, Southlake has continued to attract the suburban settler desiring a high quality of life and the small town charm that has been preserved from Southlake's past.

Lonesome Dove Baptist Church was organized in 1846 and built on land donated by church members. In 1863, church meetings were moved to the schoolhouse after American Indians burned the church building.

In 1872, the first superintendent of schools was appointed which made Lonesome Dove one of the first public schools in Tarrant County.

White's Chapel Church, located at Southlake Boulevard and White Chapel Boulevard, was founded in 1871 by settlers from Dade County, Georgia. White's Chapel drew crowds from up to 20 miles away to hear circuit rider preacher Reverend White, after whom the church was eventually named.

Old Union Community existed in the late 1800's and early 1900's in the present day location of Highway 121 and Brumlow Avenue. The community's name came from the Old Union Primitive Baptist Church that met in the school building foom from 1903 to 1910.

In 1919, three local schools-- Lonesome Dove, White's Chapel, and Sam's Schoolhouse -- consolidated to form the Carroll School District, named after Tarrant County Superintendent B.H. Carroll. By 1957, student enrollment reached 150 and the school mascot was selected, the Carroll Dragons.

Where is Southlake, Texas?

The City of Southlake is centrally located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, within easy driving distance of DFW International Airport, Alliance Airport and both metropolitan downtown districts. Also nearby are multiple tourist attractions, and the Las Colinas and Centreport business developments. For directions to Southlake, see below.

From Dallas: From I-35E, go north for approximately 4 miles. Take Highway 183 for approximately 2.6 miles to the State Highway / Northwest Highway exit. Go west on SH 114 for approximately 15 miles to the Southlake city limits. Or, from I-35E, go north for approximately 10.6 miles. Exit onto I-635 heading west. Go approximately 10 miles to the SH 114 exit. Go west for approximately 5 miles to the Southlake city limits.

From Fort Worth: From I-35W, go north for approximately 13 miles. Exit onto TX 170, go northeast for approximately 6.5 miles. Go east on State Highway 114 for approximately 3 miles to Southlake city limits.

From Denton: From I-35W, head south for approximately 17 miles to the State Highway 114 exit. Go east on SH 114 for approximately 8 miles to the Southlake city limits.

From Arlington: From State Highway 360, go north for approximately 13 miles. Follow the signs for State Highway 121 north, and take the Wall Street exit. Follow the signs to State Highway 114 west, go approximately 0.5 miles to the Southlake city limits.

Southlake Town Square

Since it commenced United States operations in 1989, Cooper & Stebbins has been a principal investor/co-venture development partner in a range of commercial and residential projects in Texas, California and Washington. The Company's involvement with retail and mixed-use real estate development grew from the background of its founders, Peter Cooper and Brian Stebbins, who each completed a number of retail, hotel and office developments in Australia and New Zealand during the 1980s.

Upon its founding in 1989, the Company focused initially on power centers in the state of Texas where it believed the real estate cycle had "bottomed out" and a new diversified economy was poised for a period of long-term economic growth. During its first five years of operations, the Company developed and acquired approximately 1.5 million square feet of regional power centers in Texas and in the state of Washington.

In 1995, the Company embarked on a strategic plan for the development and ownership of master-planned developments, generally referred to as "open-air mixed-use lifestyle centers." Unlike power centers that were designed to fulfill a medium-term ownership criteria, this new form of development offered the potential of higher growth in value through long-term ownership. After a countrywide search, the Company secured a 125-acre parcel of undeveloped land in Southlake, Texas. The land was strategically located in one of the strongest and most diverse economic corridors in the United States. During the subsequent two years, the Company created a master plan for the long-term build-out of the 125 acres.

With the first phase of its Southlake Town Square project now complete, the Company’s primary focus is to continue development of the master plan. Cooper & Stebbins maintains two offices: in Newport Beach, California and in Southlake, Texas – its headquarters. The Company provides its investments with a full complement of developmental, operational and financial management.

Peter Cooper and Brian Stebbins offer substantial business and financial expertise. Peter began his career in Auckland as an attorney with New Zealand’s largest law firm, Russell McVeagh McKenzie Bartleet & Co. As a partner he specialized in real estate and corporate transactions and subsequently co-founded Mace Development Corporation, a public real estate development and investment company. Through Mace Development Corporation, Peter and his partners structured and acquired a controlling interest in L.D. Nathan & Co, New Zealand’s largest retailer, and he became its Chief Executive Officer.

He then merged L.D. Nathan with Lion Breweries to create Lion Nathan Limited, the largest brewing and soft drink company in Australasia. Peter moved to the United States in 1989 where he established Cooper & Stebbins (real estate), Cooper Capital (venture capital) and Cooper & LeVasseur (hedge fund - public companies).

Brian Stebbins started his career with Lend Lease Corporation, a publicly traded global real estate company. Brian initially joined Lend Lease in Dallas and relocated to the company’s head office in Sydney, Australia. His responsibilities progressed from those of site engineer to project manager and development manager. Ultimately, he became head of all property development (i.e., retail, commercial and industrial) within the State of New South Wales and was appointed to the Board of Directors. Subsequent to these positions, Brian was recruited as Chief Executive Officer of St. Martins Properties, a publicly listed international property investment and development company headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1989, after returning to the United States, Brian joined with Peter to establish Cooper & Stebbins in Irvine, California.