ABOVE: A detail from Eliot Greene's panoramic photo of the White Rock Lake dam, as it appeared shortly after completion in 1911. The man in the automobile is probably Fred A. Jones, the contractor whose company built the dam. In the background are an uncompleted pump station and the Jacob Buhrer dairy farmhouse. The entire photo measures 43" x 10".

Steven Butler, David Fisher, and Eliot Greene with the historic dam photo.

On Friday, May 9, 2003, Eliot Greene, son of the late Texas author A. C. Greene, visited the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake where he unveiled, for me and Bath House manager David Fisher, a seldom-seen panoramic photo he inherited from his father.

The possibly one-of-a-kind photograph, a rare "portal to the past," was probably taken in 1911 or 1912, shortly after the dam was completed. The lake, as seen in the photo, has barely any water impounded. (The lake was not considered "full" until 1914.) On the spillway area, which is completely dry, an automobile is parked. The driver is believed to be Fred A. Jones, the contractor whose company built the dam. Eliot, David, and I agree it is probable that the photo was commissioned by Jones, as a record of his achievement.

There are two other figures in the photograph. One is standing on the old catwalk that used to span the spillway. The other is seated beneath a tree on the opposite site of the photo. (See detail photos, below left.) Neither individual is identifiable. Present-day Garland Road, then unpaved, can be seen in the foreground. Other noteworthy features of the photo are buildings that may be a part of the infamous "Pea Patch," where non-violent offenders worked off their fines, a smokestackless pump station, and several farm houses and buildings, including the old Jacob Buhrer dairy farm.

Measuring 43 inches long by 10 inches wide, this historic photograph was taken by turn-of-the-century Dallas photographer Henry Clogenson. Although Clogenson took innumerable photos of the Dallas area during the early 1900s, not much is known about him. Anyone with any information about the photographer is encouraged to contact the author of this web site at: texian1846@yahoo.com. Comments and conjecture about the photograph itself are also invited.

With Eliot's consent and following the advice of Dallas City Archivist John Slate, I arranged for the photograph to be professionally scanned at Thomas Reprographics. It is now available for viewing on this web site!

Because the original file is very large and would take a long time to download, I have divided the photo into four sections, each one measuring 2178 x 1928 pixels (approx. 400 KB). After viewing, use your browser's "BACK" button to return to this page.

As with all the photos on this site, reproduction for commercial purposes without permission is prohibited.