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FREE TO THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION AND BOOK SIGNING BY THE AUTHOR  ELIZABETH DOWLING TAYLOR  Sunday, February 12, 2012 4:00 p.m. Hall of State- Fair Park   Introduction by Dallas resident Margaret Jordan Great, great, great granddaughter of Paul Jennings   Sponsored by: Co-sponsored by:   Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolly Madison in Virginia, later becoming part of the Madison household staff at the White House. Once Jennings purchased his freedom, thanks to an advance from Senator Daniel Webster, he would give an aged and impoverished Dolly Madison, his former owner, money from his own pocket, write the first White House memoir, and see his sons fight with the Union Army in the Civil War. He died a free man in northwest Washington at 75. Based on correspondence, legal documents, and journal entries rarely seen before, this amazing portrait of the times reveals the mores and attitudes toward slavery of the nineteenth century, and sheds new light on famous characters such as James Madison, who believed the white and black populations could not coexist as equals; French General Lafayette who was appalled by this idea; Dolly Madison, who ruthlessly sold Paul after her husband's death; and many other since forgotten slaves, abolitionists, and civil rights activists.   For more information call 214-421-4500 or  e-mail

2012 BROWN BAG SERIES

The 2012 Brown Bag Lecture series has been updated. Click the link above for full details, dates and descriptions.

New Corporate Partnership Opportunity

TEXAS TREASURES is a new partnership opportunity offered by the Dallas Historical Society. Our partners in this program will help support the conservation and appreciation of our historical collection.

My Hometown and the DHS Facebook Community

"Every man's memory is his private literature." - Aldous Huxley

What do you remember about the Dallas neighborhood in which you grew up? We want to hear your story.

The Dallas Historical Society invites you to participate in our new project called "My Hometown". Our goal is to piece together a Dallas encyclopedia one ice cream stand at a time. Record your hometown memories in a 250 - 600 word essay and send to the Dallas Historical Society:

email: Dealey (subject heading "My Hometown"), or mail to:
Dallas Historical Society
My Hometown
P. O. Box 150038
Dallas, TX 75315-0038

Pending approval (our criteria are few), your essay will later be published on the web.

The Dallas Historical Society's website and message board has seen millions of clicks over the years. Now we are moving into the next generation of web services, a generation marked by user collaboration and sharing. Our first step in this direction is to build an online community through the social networking website www.Facebook.com.

Much like the popular web service known as MySpace, Facebook allows users to create a profile of themselves and interact in a number of fun ways. Facebook, however, is more exclusive than MySpace and allows for more personal privacy. The best way to learn more is to get on Facebook and join our community. It's easy. And once you are there, you can chat in the forums or participate in Historical Society projects, such as "My Hometown".

Ultimately, much of our activities on Facebook will be incorporated into a new Dallas Historical Website - a website built in part by its visitors, a website that allows virtual access to significant parts of DHS archives and museum collections. So let’s get started! Send us an email asking to join our online community and we’ll send you an invitation.