Back in the day when I worked for a property management company, we built an apartment complex in Coppell. Before that, I'd never heard of it.
It was part of the Peters Colony and was settled in the 1853 by James Parrish who was from Goliad. He and his wife, Eliza. The town was originally named Gibbs Station after Barnett Gibbs, one of Texas' first Lieutenant Governors. In 1888, the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway came through town thanks in part to New York Financier George Coppell and the town was renamed. For a long time, the town was small, approximately 200 people and was mostly agricultural.
By 1936, the WPA had built a park, some bridges over Grapevine Creek and in East Dallas, a little grocery store called Minyard's had been created. This little building is a replica of the first Minyard's store. It was created in 1932 by a postal employee named "Eck" Minyard. He bought the store for $1,200 mostly to provide jobs to his brothers. They expanded quickly and by 1981, they had their headquarters in Coppell. Unfortunately, the family sold the store to an investment company and the brand was out of business by 2017. Almost 100 years of business.
In downtown Coppell, they have a little historical park that has several buildings that, in theory, you can tour. I drove over there when it was supposed to be open but there was a sign in the window that said, "Sorry, Closed today". Oh well.
This is the home of John & Edna Kirkland. It was built in 1904 for them and their seven children. I can only assume it's in the park because it's so old.
This is the original business district of Coppell along Bethel Road. The Coppell Barbershop used to be a General Store & a Dry Goods Store. The store next to it, Tattered Style, used to be a post office in 1940.
This second location not too far down the road was a gas station. I love these old buildings and I'm glad they weren't destroyed. I just wish there was more information on their history.
This building (on the right) used to be a telephone operator's shop when it was purchased in 1932 by Floyd and Clayta Harwell. They expanded it a bit and moved in. The building on the left used to be a gas station. Floyd bought the property and used the building as his barbershop. It's still a barbershop today but it's now run by another fella that bought it from Floyd's widow.
Coppell Train Depot. The train doesn't run through Coppell anymore. They used to be part of the DART cooperative but the voters elected to drop out. Now it's part of the Life Safety Park.
Coppell remained a sleepy little town until the mid-1970s when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport opened. By the mid-1980s to 1990s all the land that was zoned residential had been built out. I drove around various neighborhoods and the houses are nice and they are large.
This little part of Coppell is called Old Town and there are these small historical buildings and some shops and restaurants. Coppell also bleeds into Dallas a little where Cypress Waters, a business/residential park off of I-635, is. There is also a commercial base for warehouses as it is close to the airport.
After driving around, I would agree that it is a nice place to live.
