Irving holds a rich history of people and places that helped build this area into such a vibrant and diverse place to live, work and visit. You may not know the story behind many of our attractions and historic areas, so we've created "Throwback Thursday - The Story of Irving," a weekly blog to tell you about the town we love. Also included each week is a printable activity and coloring page for your kiddos. Simply click on the image to print it out, then have fun coloring and working the activity. The answers to each activity page will appear in subsequent blogs. So let's get started!
Have you ever wondered who lived here before the Spanish explorers and American immigrants came to Texas? A variety of Native American tribes made Texas their home many years before Europeans sailed over here to explore. One of those tribes were called the Comanches.
Comanches tamed the wild horses (just like the Mustangs at Las Colinas) and they lived in different areas for short periods of time (Google the word - nomadic). There were no grocery stores back then so they traveled on horseback and followed the buffalo herds around for a big steak dinner after the hunt. In addition to the prairie land, there were also trees that provided food, such as nuts and berries. Throughout their journeys, the Comanches also had to search for nearby rivers so they could have water to drink. Since they often returned to the same areas, they came up with a great idea to find the rivers, as well as tribal meeting places and burial grounds. They made signs using trees.
A young tree was easy to bend, so they tied it down to the ground pointing toward the way to go. And it grew up that way, into a huge, bending tree. Then when the Comanches returned to that area, they knew exactly where there was water - they followed the pointing tree. These are called Comanche Marker Trees and even today they can be found right here in Irving. One is located on the grounds of the National Guard Armory adjacent to California Crossing Park.
Visit our website at www.irvingtexas.com for more historic information about Irving. Until next week . . .
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