Anderson Bonner had a remarkable success story during early Dallas history.
Anderson was a former slave who had extensive land holdings north of Dallas along White Rock Creek and Cottonwood Branch. Bonner came from Alabama with his brother and sister to settle and farm land in the area north of White Rock Creek.
Although he signed his name with an “X” on deeds, Bonner purchased hundreds of acres of land with profits from his farm produce and that of sharecroppers who leased from him. His business acumen was evident in the variety of legal transactions he handled. The first recorded deed for Bonner’s land purchases was filed in Dallas County, August 10, 1874. Married to Eliza Bonner, who preceded him in death, Anderson had nine children and later married Lucinda from Waxahachie, Texas.”
Today, in Anderson Bonner Park, bicycle riders cruise along trails that were once part of the Bonner farmland.
