Big City Convenience, Small Town Charm
Due to weather conditions, the City of The Colony will delay the start of business until 11 a.m. The Colony Public Library, Recreation Center, and Aquatic Park are closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for Jeffrey West in The Colony, TX. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. Background Checks.
The Colony, a new home community located in the picturesque riverside city of Bastrop, is highly recognized for its first-class builders and resort-style amenities. It’s also the ideal place to enjoy the local footprint. Between the Friday night football games and the annual festivals, Bastrop has a strong sense of community.
- Although the colonists cultivated wheat and vegetables, they did not produce enough for their needs or in time; their biggest handicap was the uncooperative weather of Texas. A blizzard in May 1856 destroyed the colony's crops and turned the Trinity River into a sheet of ice. That summer the Texas heat created drought conditions.
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Under the starry Texas skies, you’ll find the charming pathways of downtown. Full of small town appeal, walkability to shops, bistros and cafes and vintage architecture on every streetscape, Downtown Bastrop is beloved by its hometown for its culinary flair, historic sites and Lost Pines adventures. This is a place where yesteryear charm abides from every angle.
For more information on Main Street Historic District click here.
Other nearby attractions include:
- Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa
- Colovista Golf Course
- Colorado River Refuge
- El Camino Paddling Trail
- Bastrop State Park
- Lake Bastrop
- Lost Pines Nature Trails
- Fisherman’s Park
- McKinney Roughs Nature Park
- Buc-Ees
Lose the Stress, Find Your Fun
Our neighborhoods offer a variety of awesome amenities—that far surpass other new home communities in nearby and the surrounding area. From pools to nature trails, playgrounds and fitness centers, The Colony has it all!
The Amenity Center Complex on Stephen f. Austin Blvd.
At The Colony’s premier amenity center, you’ll find endless opportunities to bask in the good life! Dive into the inviting Junior Olympic-sized pool with multiple lap lanes. Surrounded by shady oak trees, there’s ample space here for lounging under the radiant Texas sun. With a fitness center, activity room and lifestyle programs, you’ll never lack for things to do. And for those who just can’t get enough of the fresh air, a community playground, tennis courts and nature trails offer even more irresistible outside pursuits.
This is also the home base for our onsite Lifestyle Coordinator. Not only will you find information here about everything that’s going on at The Colony, it’s the place to be for exciting community events happening all year long.
The Overlook
Ideally located east of FM969 on Sam Houston Drive, The Overlook provides a true enclave of peace and tranquility. This beautiful new amenity center promises commanding views of majestic live oaks and the spectacular Colorado River which borders The Colony. With its own private gated pool, you’ll discover the perfect place to go for refreshing dip or unwind and be at one with the breathtaking scenery. If you’re looking for more activity, a fitness room will offer the latest exercise equipment or you can stroll, hike or bike along the numerous walking trails that meander about the area.
Prairie Vista
This upcoming new amenity center is sure to be the hub of activity for anyone living in Angelina Park and Morgan Bend. Situated west of FM969, just a short walk from all the homes, Prairie Vista will provide residents with a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle. A luxurious private pool area is designed to offer a relaxing place to cool off, read a book or meet up with friends. And with a state-of- the-art playground right there, kids of all ages will find plenty of ways to fire up their imaginations and burn off excess energy!
Ghost Town | |
Location within Texas La Réunion (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 32°45′33.22″N96°51′24.8″W / 32.7592278°N 96.856889°WCoordinates: 32°45′33.22″N96°51′24.8″W / 32.7592278°N 96.856889°W | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Texas |
| County | Dallas |
| Settled | 1855 |
| Founded by | Belgian, French, Swiss Colonists |
| Elevation | 429 ft (131 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| FIPS code | 48113 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2034083 |
La Réunion was a utopian socialist community formed in 1855 by French, Belgian, and Swiss colonists on the south bank of the Trinity River in central Dallas County, Texas (US). The colony site is a short distance north of Interstate 30 near downtown Dallas.[1] The founder of the community, Victor Prosper Considerant, was a French democratic socialist who directed an international movement based on Fourierism, a set of economic, political, and social beliefs advocated by French philosopher François Marie Charles Fourier. Fourierism subsequently became known as a form of utopian socialism.[2]
Initially, plans for the colony were loosely structured by design as it was Considerant's intent to make it a 'communal experiment administered by a system of direct democracy.'[1] The crux of the plan was to allow participants to share in profits derived from capital investments and the amount and quality of labor performed. La Réunion existed for only eighteen months with its demise attributable to financial insolvency, a shortage of skilled participants, inclement weather, inability to succeed at farming, and rising costs. On January 28, 1857, Allyre Bureau, one of the society leaders, gave formal notice of the colony's dissolution. By 1860, what remained was incorporated into the expanding city of Dallas.[1]
Brief history[edit]
The founders of La Réunion intended it to become a socialist utopian colony; they were inspired by the writings of the French philosopher Charles Fourier, who advocated communal production and distribution for communal profit. Unlike other early communist systems, both men and women could vote and individuals could own private property.
Founder of La Réunion[edit]
West Dating The Colony Texas Real Estate
La Réunion was founded in Texas by Victor Prosper Considerant, a member of the Fourier movement in Lyon, France. He had been forced into exile after staging protests against Napoléon III's military expedition to Rome. After personally inspecting an area near the three forks of the Trinity River in Texas, he returned to Europe where he formed a group of future settlers. (The site of the community was in the present-day Reunion District of Dallas, about three miles west of the Reunion Tower.)
Land purchase[edit]
Advance agent François Cantagrel was sent ahead to buy 2 acres (8,100 m2) at $700 per acre to establish the location of the colony. As the land was not good for farming, the property was a poor choice for the intended colony, although most of the would-be colonists were not farmers. Approximately 200 colonists arrived by ship near present-day Houston. They walked overland to the site of their new colony approximately 250 miles (400 km) northward, with their possessions hauled by ox carts, and arrived on April 22, 1855.
Original population[edit]
The general area surrounding the three forks of the Trinity River had about 400 inhabitants at the time. The addition of the French colonists nearly doubled the population. The new arrivals spoke a different language from the settlers, believed in a different system of government and Catholic faith, and brought with them skills that the existing farmers did not possess. The watchmaking, weaving, brewing and storekeeping skills of the new colonists were ill-suited to the establishment of a colony, because they lacked the ability to produce food for themselves.
Texas weather[edit]
Although the colonists cultivated wheat and vegetables, they did not produce enough for their needs or in time; their biggest handicap was the uncooperative weather of Texas. A blizzard in May 1856 destroyed the colony's crops and turned the Trinity River into a sheet of ice. That summer the Texas heat created drought conditions, and what was left of the crops became a feast for an invasion of grasshoppers.
Decline of La Réunion[edit]
Although more than 350 European colonists eventually made La Réunion their home, the experiment was already beginning to fail as the population began to leave.[3] Some returned to Europe while others moved out of the area.[3][4] By 1940, the nearby emerging city of Dallas consumed the remaining unoccupied land that was once La Réunion.[3]
Few reminders remain[edit]
West Dating The Colony Texas City
Eventually what had been cultivated as farmland at La Réunion was discovered to be covering large deposits of limestone; it was gradually quarried and transported to build the growing state of Texas.[5]
The cemetery on the old colony site still serves as the final resting place for some of the colonists. It is maintained by the City of Dallas and is located just off Fish Trap Road between Singleton Blvd and the Trinity River in west Dallas. The La Réunion Cemetery received a historic marker in 1974.[6][7]
- La Réunion Cemetery 32°47′0″N96°51′37″W / 32.78333°N 96.86028°W
The Daughters of the American Revolution placed a small memorial to the colony at a nearby golf course. The La Réunion Dallas historical site received a historic marker on April 10, 1924.[8][9]
The last La Réunion house collapsed in the 1930s, and its ruins are now obscured by thick vegetation.[citation needed]Reunion Tower, a Dallas landmark, was named after the colony and is located a few miles east of where La Réunion once existed.[citation needed]
Legacy[edit]
Shortly before the demise of La Réunion, botanist and pharmacist Jacob Boll arrived and taught Julien Reverchon. The latter man became celebrated in his own right as a professor of botany at Baylor University College of Medicine and Pharmacy in Dallas. The first brewery and butcher shops in Dallas were established by former colonists from La Réunion; Maxime Guillot opened a carriage factory that operated for 50 years.
See also[edit]
- Icarians, a French utopian movement which attempted to set up a colony in Denton County in 1848.
References[edit]
- ^ abcDavidson, Rondel V. 'La Réunion'. TSHA Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ^Keith Taylor (1982). Political Ideas of the Utopian Socialists. Taylor & Francis. p. 23. ISBN9780714630892.
- ^ abc'LA REUNION - Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)'. The Handbook of Texas Online. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^Barton, Julia (2016-03-24). 'The failed socialist utopian dream that helped Dallas become a major city'. Public Radio International. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^'Cement City Collection'. University of Texas Libraries. 1908-04-28. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
- ^'Details for La Reunion Cemetery Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5113006756'. Atlas: Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via atlas.thc.state.tx.us.
- ^La Réunion Cemetery: 3300 block of Fish Trap Road; in West Dallas, Housing Park: Texas marker #6756 | [1]
- ^'Details for La Reunion Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5113006755'. Atlas: Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via atlas.thc.state.tx.us.
- ^La Réunion - Dallas: Stevens Park Golf Course, Tee #6; on Hampton Road at intersection with Old Orchard: Texas marker #6755 | [2]
- Santerre, George H. White Cliffs of Dallas. The Book Craft, Dallas, 1955. Dallas Public Library Reference: R.976.428 S234W. The Story of La Reunion, the Old French Colony.
- Considerant, Victor. Au Texas. New York, 1855. Dallas Public Library Reference: REF R334.683 C755A 1975. In French.
External links[edit]
- Brief history of early communism in Texas, Fortune City
- 'La Reunion', Texas, Ghost Towns
- 'La Reunion Arts Residency program', (est. 2006, Dallas, Texas)
- 'La Reunion', Santerre and Cretien Families Collection at the Dallas Public Library
- 'La Reunion, a French Settlement in Texas by William J. Hammond, Ph.D. and Margaret F. Hammond', 1958. Royal Publishing Company: Dallas, Texas. Public domain ebook by Project Gutenberg.