Texas Small Towns near Dallas and Fort Worth

American Historic Small Towns Itineraries

Archer City Ennis Possum Kingdom Rainbow and Turkey

Archer City is located south of Wichita Falls that is the birthplace of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry. The town boasts a rare bookstore owned and operated by the author as well as the Royal Theater, featured in the book and film The Last Picture Show.

Ennis is south of Dallas and is renowned for its motorsport events and its Czech heritage; the world record drag racing speed of 333.95 mph was set on its drag strip, and the National Polka Festival is held here every year. The town’s most beautiful attraction is its gorgeous wildflower display each spring.

Possum Kingdom is a lake community West of Dallas/Fort Worth. The lake offers beautiful camping and water sports. In the evening, be on the lookout for possums.

Reduce Transit Times and Travel Cost on Your Next Trip

Rainbow is southwest of Dallas/Fort Worth. A rainbow spread across the sky when area residents gathered to name their community in the late 19^th Century; hence, the name. Today, Rainbow is known for the fields of wildflowers that bloom there in springtime.

Turkey is northwest of Fort Worth in the Texas Panhandle. The town was the home of Bob Wills, famed swing musician, and hosts celebrations every spring, featuring a parade, a fiddling contest, cook-offs, and dancing. The old-timey general store Lacy Dry Goods has been in business since 1927.

American Westward Expansion

The Oregon California Mormon and Bozeman Trails

River Valley Trails played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States, providing the route for several major emigrant trails, including the Oregon, California, Mormon and Bozeman Trails. The French were the first Europeans to reach the Platte. At Casper, Wyoming the trails left the North Platte valley and followed the Sweetwater River valley and other river valleys going further west.

The Platte River originates in the state of Nebraska and is about 310 miles - 500 km - long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over 1,050 miles - 1,690 km. The Platte is a tributary of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The North Platte River is approximately 716 miles - 1,152 km – long, across Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. It is navigable over most of its length at high water by canoes, kayaks and rafts. In Colorado and Wyoming, the river is narrower and much swifter flowing than it is in Nebraska, where it becomes a slow, shallow stream. The upper reaches of the river in the Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming are popular for recreation rafting and fishing. 

Casper Wyoming was established in 1860. Near what is now Casper was the location of several ferries that offered passage across the North Platte River during the summer Trail season starting about 1847. The wagon trails following the south side of the Platte/North Platte River ferried or waded in low water years across the South Platte River in several places to stay on the south side of the North Platte River where the trails were located. Those who went to Denver followed the South Platte River trail into Colorado. Historically, the North Platte River used to be up to a mile wide (1.6 km) in many places as evidenced by the old streambed and written records. 

The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River located in the eastern flank of the Colorado Rockies, Nebraska and southeastern Wyoming near Cheyenne. The river forms southwest of Denver in the South Park grassland basin and is a major source of drinking water for the Denver area, flowing north through central Denver. The highly industrial Denver Valley is also a major railroad route. North of Denver it is joined by Clear Creek which descends from the mountains to the west in a canyon that was the cradle of the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush.

The South Platte is the Principal Source of Water for Eastern Colorado

History originally called the Rio Chato, and before the city of Denver was founded, many travelers came to the South Platte River to escape the arid Great Plains. 

Fly Fishing a Gold Medal Western trout river on the Eastern Slope of Colorado, the river is well known for its brown and rainbow trout.

the best way to travel is in the company of people who live and work in the places you visit.

Your Connection to the Oregon California Mormon and Bozeman Trails

The Historic Neighborhoods of St Louis Missouri

St. Louis is home to blues music, a brewing tradition and Cardinals baseball. The city was destined to become a beer town. In addition to the large German and Irish population, there was plenty of water, rail connections, limestone caves, and an entrepreneurial spirit that provided the foundation for the city’s beer business. Today, the tradition continues as St. Louis is home to several microbreweries and brewpubs.

Ballpark Village is a seven block, 10-acre entertainment plaza comprising Cardinals Nation, a venue that combines a Cards-themed restaurant, rooftop deck with views inside the stadium, and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum; a Budweiser brew house, complete with beer garden and displays of St. Louis’ brewing history.

St. Louis Cardinals catch an exciting Major League Baseball action and cheer for the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-time World Series Champions.  You can also take a Stadium Tour.

4 Hands Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in the LaSalle Park neighborhood.  Specializing in crafting unique ales that push the level of creativity and flavor.  At any one time, 10 different ales will be available.

Schlafly Bottleworks free tours of St. Louis’ favorite brewery includes an exhibit on the history of brewing in St. Louis, the brew house, bottling plant and tasting rooms. 

A Town for Music Lovers

 

The National Blues Museum is a world-class cultural attraction. Legendary Blues icon Buddy Guy, Grammy Award Winners Robert Cray and Derek Trucks, and film and TV star John Goodman support the project. It explores the Blues and celebrates the genre as the foundation of all modern American music. The facility educates guests in an entertaining environment that includes high impact technology driven experiences, a 100-seat theater, artifact-driven exhibits and public programming.

BB’s Jazz, Blues & Soups stop in and catch award winning live music nightly with local and national acts. Broadway Oyster Bar is where you can catch the best in local and national bands.

Route 66 has become an icon of American culture and history. Established in 1926, this semi-transcontinental highway stretches 2448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 entered American folklore with the famous song written by Bobby Troup who urged us all to ‘get our kicks on Route 66’.

In St. Louis You Will Experience American and European Traditions

Downtown St. Louis has undergone a myriad of changes and modifications since its days as a garment and shoe manufacturing center. The Loft District is home to major corporations, small businesses, residential lofts, boutiques, galleries, restaurants and nightspots. The neighborhood’s evolution has returned the once proud historic buildings to service.

The Gateway Arch soars 630 feet above downtown St. Louis. America’s tallest man-made monument offers a 30-mile panoramic view of the Mississippi River and the city; it was built to honor President Thomas Jefferson and his vision of a continental United States. 

The Central West End is over a century old and full of charming sidewalk cafés, galleries, antique shops, restaurants, boutiques and pubs. Adjacent to the commercial district, it is characterized by tree-lined streets, stately turn-of-the-century homes and the family apartment of playwright Tennessee Williams, setting of his play The Glass Menagerie.

Cherokee Antiques Row minutes south of downtown St. Louis, it offers six blocks of independently owned and operated antique, collectible and specialty shops, art galleries, restaurants and cafés. The Cherokee-Lemp History Walk takes you through 200 years of history, with mini-histories displayed in the windows, on fences or facades of 26 buildings that detail charming Victorian architecture and the families that ran the businesses from the 19^th century through the 1950s.

Lemp Mansion Home of Beer Barons and the Most Haunted House in America

Clayton is home to the St. Louis County government as well as boutiques, galleries, hotels and restaurants known throughout the region.

Webster Groves is an enclave filled with century-old homes and a mélange of architectural styles with cultural offerings, cozy restaurants, and boutiques. Over 300 of the community’s homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood includes the 1857 Hawken House, built by inventors of the rifle that explorers took to the western frontier, Webster University and the Loretto-Hilton Theatre.

Soulard is the city’s oldest neighborhood. Its historic streets, lined with red brick townhomes, are located five minutes south of the Arch. It is named for Antoine Soulard, a Frenchman who surveyed colonial St. Louis and is home to historic churches, built by St. Louis’ immigrant communities. Soulard marks its French heritage with an annual Mardi Gras fête; revelers also flock to the neighborhood in the fall for Oktoberfest. The Farmers Market has been operating since 1779.

Laclede’s Landing is where 19^th century architecture meets 21^st century dining and entertainment. The Landing is a collection of historic riverfront warehouses that have been converted into nightclubs and restaurants.

Grand Center is the cultural hub of the region. There are few districts in the United States that have the intensity and caliber of arts offerings as Grand Center with its 12,000 theatre seats, 1,500 cultural events, and a dozen galleries and museums.