Grapevine community had started by 1920s

The first settlers arrived in Grapevine in 1844 to farm the land and eke out a living.

As the homesteaders' properties bloomed with cotton and other cash crops, another wave of newcomers began to arrive: blacks, some of them freed slaves, drawn by the opportunity for work.

Black families were living in the area as early as the 1850s, according to historical records. By the 1920s, there were several established black communities in Grapevine. The largest is "The Hill," about a half-square mile north of Northwest Highway and south of Grapevine Lake.

"They came to work on the farms, at B&D Mill and as help in people's homes," said Sallie Andrews of the Grapevine Historical Society.

The community was small, no more than about 20 families, until the 1940s when excavation for the Grapevine Lake dam brought a wave of workers to the area and nearly doubled the population of The Hill.

"They built shacks or took a room in someone's home," recalled Eliza Brewer, 86, who has lived in The Hill since 1945.

At that time, most of the homes were modest frame structures, hand-built by residents for one another. Most families had gardens and grew their vegetables, she recalled.

"Everyone worked for someone else," Brewer said. "I did a lot of cotton-chopping and then worked for a family in town."

The center of the community was Love Chapel Church.

With the influx of the dam workers in the 1940s, the three-room Turner School was built to educate children in grades one to eight.

Bobbie J. Mitchell, now a Denton County Commissioner, moved to The Hill in 1959 with her widowed father and older sister. She recalled The Hill as a close-knit community of caring people.

"You always felt safe," said Mitchell, 64, who lives in Lewisville. "Everyone looked out for everyone else."

Still, the humiliation of segregation hung over the community.

"Our school books were used and had derogatory comments written in them," Mitchell recalled. "In town, we had to use the colored fountains. If we went to the movies, we had to sit in the balcony. We had to walk in through the back door of restaurants."

After completing the eighth grade at Turner, the only option for high school was I.M. Terrell in Fort Worth. Mitchell had to catch the bus at 6:30 a.m. and didn't return home until 5 p.m.

When integration occurred in 1965, Mitchell was able to attend Grapevine High School for her senior year.

But integration was also the beginning of the downfall of The Hill.

The Turner School closed and the end of segregated housing allowed families to move to other neighborhoods.

Many of the old homes fell into disrepair and were torn down.

New houses, owned by newcomers of other backgrounds, have replaced them. Only a handful of original residents and their descendants remain.

Love Chapel has deteriorated and is no longer usable. A fundraising effort has been made to restore the structure.

The congregation continues to meet in a nearby shopping center storefront. Many former residents, including Mitchell, still attend the church every Sunday.

"This is home," she said.