Leslie Stemmons
Encyclopedia
Leslie Allison Stemmons was an influential businessman in Dallas, Texas. Stemmons born in Dallas, Texas, on November 8, 1876, the son of John Martin and Rebecca (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...

 Allison) Stemmons. He attended Southwestern University
Southwestern University
Southwestern University is a private, four-year, undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Georgetown, Texas, USA. Founded in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest university in Texas. The school is affiliated with the United Methodist Church although the curriculum is nonsectarian...

 in Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is a city and also the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States with a population of 47,400 at the 2010 census. Southwestern University, founded in 1840, is the oldest university in Texas and is located in Georgetown, about 1/2 mile east of the historic square...

 and graduated from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. Before returning to Dallas in 1900 to work selling fire insurance and real estate, Stemmons worked briefly in Chicago real estate. On July 16, 1902, he married Elizabeth Story. They had three children. Elizabeth died on January 3, 1910. On October 4, 1915, Stemmons married Proctor Howell. They had one son. As a real estate agent Stemmons developed the Miller-Stemmons addition, Winnetka Heights, Rosemont Crest, Sunset Hill, Sunset Annex, Sunset Summit, Sunset Heights, and Sunset Crest in Oak Cliff. He was a leader in the annexation of Oak Cliff and the building of the Houston Street Viaduct between Dallas and Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff is a community in Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town located in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1903...

. Stemmons was also a president and director of Atlas Metal Works, a director of Southwestern Land and Loan Company, and a director of Evergreen Hills, Incorporated. He was a member of the Dallas Historical Society
Dallas Historical Society
The Dallas Historical Society is an organization dedicated to the history of Dallas, Texas . It was organized on March 31, 1922, by citizens who wished to encourage historical inquiry. In 1938, the Society assumed the management of the Hall of State at Fair Park at the request of the City of Dallas...

, the Methodist Church, and the Dallas Real Estate Board.

In 1908 the Trinity River
Trinity River (Texas)
The Trinity River is a long river that flows entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme north Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the south side of the Red River....

overflowed Commerce Street 52.6 feet, and the Ulrickson Committee was formed to draft a flood-control plan. Leslie Stemmons served on the committee. In 1926 he helped establish the City and County of Dallas Levee Improvement District and served as the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the District. The plan involved moving the Trinity River channel one mile west and building a series of levees. In 1928 the city gave a group of river bottomland owners, the Industrial Properties Association, a charter to develop the reclaimed land for industrial use, as the Trinity Industrial District. In later years the Stemmons family donated much of the valuable right-of-way for the building of Stemmons Freeway. Stemmons died at his home in Dallas on October 15, 1939, and was buried in Oak Cliff Cemetery.
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