Denison, Texas could be called Munsonville, Texas.

When I drove home from Oklahoma last week I drove through Denison, Texas. On the north end of town was a large park with the name Munson Park. I visited the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower. When I went out the east end of town I parked and googled Denison and Munson. I learned the following.

In 1871 my cousin William Benjamin Munson arrived in Sherman, Texas. He was an engineering graduate from the new University of Kentucky.  He got work surveying. He studied law and in 6 months passed the exam to be a lawyer in Texas. The law degree helped him in his future real estate business.

In 1782 he founded the town of Denison, some few miles from Sherman. Several railroads came together there. Sherman was not interested in helping the railroads so my cousin started Denison. Later he and a brother gave several hundred acres of land to establish Munson Park. It is a large park with a fifty acre lake.

The town football stadium is named Munson Stadium.

Doc Holiday (OK Corral shoot out participant) had a dentist office on Denison in 1875. This fact has nothing to do with my blog. I just added it for color.

William had a brother Thomas Volney Munson who was a viticulture expert. (Grape growing) Thomas moved to Denison to do work on grapevines. The soil in North Texas is a lot like the soil in the grape areas of France.

In the mid 19th century a phylloxera outbreak killed almost all the grapevines in France. Thomas Volney or TV Munson developed a phylloxera resistant vine that saved the wine business in France. I have blogged on this once before. He was inducted into the French Legion of Honor and Denison was made the sister city of Cognac, France.

There is a Thomas Volney Munson Memorial Vineyard at Grayson College in Denison.

The next time you have a glass of French wine remember that TV Munson made it possible.

To me, Denison Texas means Munson/Monson, Eisenhower, grape vines and Doc Holiday.