In the 1800s, one of the pioneers of our community, W.B. Elam, owned 600 acres of land in what was then referred to as the "Elam Community." Don Lebow, a violinist as well as the first schoolteacher in that community, glanced out the window of the one-room schoolhouse, gazed at a grove of trees at the corner of Gardenview and Alto Garden roads, and commented to his students that, "this is such a pleasant place, they should call this Pleasant Grove."

Shortly thereafter, that school came to be called Pleasant Grove School. The name was liked so well that it was applied to the entire community. That is how this area in southeast Dallas came to be known as Pleasant Grove.

When Mr. Lebow admired that pleasant grove of trees outside of the school house, one wonders if he could have envisioned that he was within two miles of what would become known as the largest urban forest in North America.

Just south of Scyene Road, in the Piedmont section of Pleasant Grove, begins this vast urban forest. These trees extend directly through south and southeast Dallas, jutting south of Interstate 20 at Dowdy Ferry Road. (In 1854, an Illinois native, Alanson Dawdy, began to operate a ferry across the Trinity River on that spot.) If you drive on U.S. Highway 175 toward Kaufman, when you curve eastward at Bexar Street in South Dallas, you will notice for the next two miles, until you reach the Lake June exit, you will be driving through the heart of the forest, with dense forestation lining both sides of the highway.

And yet, that is just the beginning of the story.

"Groundwork Dallas" has been working hard to develop nature hiking trails in this forest. Using high school students, they have been creating hiking trails near Scyene Road, as well as at the end of Bexar Street.

The city is finishing construction of the new Trinity River Audubon Center. This 21,000-square-foot facility is just south of Loop 12. The entrance welcomes visitors with the following inscription on the wall: "Here is your country. Cherish the natural resources, the history, the romance, for your children and your children's children."

This center, managed by Audubon Texas, will be a marvelous addition not only to our community, but to all of North Texas. The grand opening is just around the corner.

Who could have envisioned that there would come a day when residents of greater Dallas, as well as tourists, would venture into Pleasant Grove to visit an Audubon center, walking hiking trails while watching birds and various creatures as they commune with nature, in the largest urban forest in North America?

With help from the research staff at the downtown Dallas Central Library, I may know who could have envisioned this day. It was that violinist and visionary schoolteacher in the 1800s, Mr. Lebow. In naming our community, he answered the question that some have asked: "What is pleasant about Pleasant Grove"?

Yes, Mr. Lebow, it was the trees all along, and they are pleasant indeed.

Keith A. Brown of Pleasant Grove is a machinist, musician, and Voices volunteer columnist. His e-mail address is keithbrow4 @aol.com.

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