Voices from Dean Highland: An Oral History

Welcome! If you live in Dean Highland, you know it’s a special place. Our rectangular neighborhood – From McFerrin over to Bosque, and from MacArthur down to 26th - is packed with history, potholes, familiar faces, and strange new places.

More than anything, Dean Highland is full of stories. And it’s time to start sharing them.

What’s This All About?

This is a neighborhood history project called “Voices from Dean Highland.” The idea is simple: we want to sit down and listen to your life story. We’ve partnered with the friendly folks at Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History, and they are helping us record and preserve the memories that make our neighborhood what it is today.

We have a few goals for this project:
1. Bringing neighbors together
In a busy world, it’s easy to just wave as we pass by. We want to change that! By sharing our stories and experiences, we can get to know each other better and build a stronger, friendlier community. It’s also a great way to get more people involved in the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association, so we can all have a say in what happens right here where we live.

2. Telling the real history of our neighborhood Dean Highland is full of landmarks that hold countless memories.

● What was it like when the old Hillcrest hospital was the heart of the neighborhood?

● What are your memories of Highland Baptist Church or Zion Hill Baptist Church?

History isn’t just about buildings; it’s about the people who live and work and worship around them. Your stories tell the true history of Dean Highland and what these important places have meant to all of us over the years.

3. Making our voices heard
When we share our stories, we share what's important to us. What do we love about Dean Highland? What do we want for its future? This project is a chance to gather our voices and ideas to help make our neighborhood an even better place to live for years to come. Your stories can help shape our future, but they also strengthen our voices in the “here and now.”

We believe that everyone has a story worth telling, and we’d be honored to hear yours. To get involved, please email Brandon Christensen.