History
Legendary Fun in the Sun Since 1961!
The Texas Pool was envisioned in 1959 when the City of Plano, Texas was mostly undeveloped ranchland. Billionaire oilman and famous Texan Herbert Hunt urbanized the area that would become Dallas’ Telecom Corridor. As a centerpiece for the new development, a 168,000-gallon pool shaped like the great State of Texas was created. The Texas Pool was constructed from a design drawn into the Texas terra firma with a mesquite stick. In May of 1961, The Texas Pool opened to the public and the Miss Plano Pageant was held there. Mr. Hunt named the surrounding neighborhood “Dallas North Estates” because he figured nobody would “know where in the heck Plano was.” That’s certainly not true today!
In the days before there were City of Plano pools, before local country clubs, the Texas Pool was known as the Dallas North Swim Club. It was a member’s only community pool and each spring, folks camped out in a long line hoping to score one of the few available memberships. Times were good and generations of Texans learned to swim, shared summers, and created memories at the Texas Pool. Yet, as the years passed, the fabric of society changed, the neighborhood aged, children grew up, moms returned to the workforce, and fewer folks were home for the summer. By 2007, The Texas Pool was in trouble. Public support and memberships plummeted. Repairs were left undone. There were big vacancies on the volunteer Board of Directors. For the first time in almost 50 years, there was fear that the Texas Pool was finished. A handful of volunteers, determined to save it, dove in and made Texas history.
In 2012, the Texas Pool Foundation was established with a new vision for saving the pool and in 2013 the Foundation became a 501(c)3 nonprofit. With a mission of preservation and community outreach, The Texas Pool was transformed from an exclusive private pool into a community-centric historic landmark belonging to everyone. In 2017, the original Dallas North Community Club was dissolved, and the Texas Pool Foundation became the official stewards for the historic site.
In 2019, The Texas Pool was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And during the COVID pandemic years, The Texas Pool team created a safe outdoor oasis for families. In 2023, The Texas Pool became a City of Plano Heritage Landmark and is a recipient of the City of Plano Heritage Grant. Today, The Texas Pool is managed, maintained, and marketed by the Texas Pool Foundation Board of Directors and a team of volunteers. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, The Texas Pool is eligible for tax-deductible donations of cash, goods, and services, and for community service projects and fundraising events.
Nothing quite says “Texas” like the iconic Texas Pool shape. With its unique architectural design, historic value, special events, mermaids, aquatic programs, award-winning butterfly garden, art murals, and community service opportunities, The Texas Pool offers everyone an opportunity to dive in and “swim across Texas.” With support from the City of Plano, corporations and local businesses, sponsors, memberships, donations, and the community, The Texas Pool’s future is as big as Texas!
Celebrating 65 Years
The Texas Pool celebrates its 65th summer in 2026. Please join us in thanking all of the volunteers, lifeguards, members and guests throughout the years who spent their summers swimming across Texas. With support from the community, the historic Texas Pool will continue to be a community gathering place and legendary landmark for Texas-sized fun in the sun!
Historic Place
The Texas Pool’s Landmark Status
Plano Heritage Landmark
The City of Plano currently has 35 locally designated sites, referred to in Plano as “Heritage Landmarks.” These include structures, sites, and cemeteries which have been deemed significant to the city based upon their own individual merits. The Ammie Wilson House was the first designated property in 1981. The Texas Pool is the latest, designated in June 2023.
National Register of Historic Places
On April 1, 2019, The Texas Pool was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Texas Historical Commission provided essential research and expertise in completing and submitting the National Register Application, officially declaring The Texas Pool to be the very first Texas-shaped pool in the country.
timeline
The Historic Texas Pool
Famous Texan Herbert Hunt named the Texas Pool neighborhood Dallas North Estates in 1960. He figured no one would know where in the heck Plano is so he named his development after the more well-known city to the south. Mr. Hunt was later instrumental in helping the Texas Pool become a historical landmark.
Dallas North Estates, a “Planned City,” was developed from a wheat field. It opened with three to five-bedroom homes ranging from $10,000 to $15,000. Air conditioning was optional.
The Texas Pool opened to the public for the first time during the summer of 1961. A contest was held for people to guess how many gallons of water it held. The winner was given a boat, trailer and motor from Plano’s Lone Star Boat Co. The Answer: 168,000 gallons!
When the pool opened it featured a diving board, high dive and single slide located near the “North Texas” section of the pool.
Vicki Muncie Drew shared this newspaper article from the Dallas Times Herald that shows her family swimming at the Texas Pool on Memorial Day in 1961. They were among the first residents of Dallas North Estates.
“The newspaper had scheduled this with my parents. We were attending school in Farmer’s Branch and they had not scheduled a school holiday for Memorial Day. I told my sisters if they wanted to go swimming not to tell our parents. Unfortunately, after a forgotten swimsuit, we drove past the school during recess. During the ensuing conversation, I told my parents that I had informed my teacher we would not be at school because Memorial Day is supposed to be a national holiday! We had a good day! And the whole family still laughs about it,” she wrote.
In a photo dated July 1961, the pool’s main office has a pergola-type roof. There is an chain link fence around the pool with no grassy area. There are covered shade structures along the western border.
The Miss Plano contest was held at the Texas Pool during the summer of 1961. 17 local beauties competed for the crown.
A year after the Texas Pool opened, it was sold by the Hunt Family to the nonprofit Dallas North Swim Club for $1 so long as it is operated as a recreational facility.
Household memberships, equivalent to about $320 today, were available to families outside of North Dallas Estates.
The Duncan Family lived on Ridgefield Drive and enjoyed summers at the Texas Pool. The photo above is courtesy of Janet Duncan Karr, who was 10 at the time this was taken in 1964.
“My home away from home in the summertime starting when we moved to Plano in June 1964, my 5th grade year in the fall. I taught myself to swim that summer and discovered I wasn’t afraid of the high dive,” Karr said of the pool.
Images from a 1965 documentary titled “The Plano Story” featured the Texas Pool. At that time, the main entrance to the pool still had a pergola-type roof and gate.
Interesting Note: The man peeking through the Texas Pool gate in the third photo is home builder JR Duncan, who owned Southfork Ranch and was the model for JR Ewing in the television series “Dallas.”