Ladies of North Texas Drive

The Ladies of North Texas Drive is a scenic drive over North Texas country roads in Hunt, Collin, and Grayson Counties, paying a visit to Josephine, Celeste, Melissa, Anna, Luella, Marilee, and Celina. These towns were all established in the nineteenth century and range from thriving high-growth cities to very small unincorporated communities.

Only the hardy come out to play on a wet and windy wintery Sunday in December, and as you can see this ride was with our local Mini enthusiast club. If you happen to have found this post and drive a Mini, the largest club in the DFW area is Metroplex Mini, they can be found on the web at metroplexmini.org and on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/MetroplexMINI a friendly bunch of people with plenty of Mini stories. The club arranges various events throughout the year including Happy Hours, dinners, rides, parades, etc, so if you are interested in joining the fun with some fellow Mini owners, please look them up. The name of the ride; ‘Ladies of North Texas’ was a fun route through some typically Texas towns all named after women.

This route like so many in North Texas provides a good mix of straight and twisty roads that can all be driven at speed when the surface is wet or dry. Unfortunately, on the day of this ride, we encountered some heavy downpours leading to surface water and spray that reduced visibility slowing us down a little, also caution should always be observed when passing through the towns and villages unless you’re looking for a chat with the Sheriff.

Unfortunately due to the persistent rain and local COVID dining-in limitations for large groups in Texas on the day of this ride, we decided to break and go our separate ways once we arrived at Buc-ee’s in Melissa. The group did get to complete this route the next weekend when the weather was more favourable.

If you decide to try this route, here’s a little data on the towns and their names to perk your interest 🙂

Josephine (2019 estimated population: 2,094)

A town that straddles Collin and Hunt Counties. Named in honor of the daughter of J. C. Hubbard, who donated land for the townsite.

Celeste (2018 population: 902)

Town in Hunt County. Named by local settlers for the wife (or daughter, by some accounts) of a Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway official, as a thank-you gesture for the railroad donating lots for churches and schools.

Melissa (2019 estimated population: 12,117)

City in Collin County. Sources disagree as to the origin of the name of the town. Some state that Melissa was named for Melissa Quinlan, daughter of George A. Quinlan, an official of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, while others say that it received its name for Melissa Huntington, daughter of C. P. Huntington, a prominent railroad executive.

Anna (2018 population: 14,283)

City in Collin County. Though no absolute consensus on the origin of the town’s name, it was most likely named after Anna Elizabeth Quinlan, daughter of H&TC Railroad official George A. Quinlan.

Luella (2000 population: 639)

An unincorporated community in Grayson County. Named after the oldest daughter of businessman J. L. Hughes.

Marilee (population: unknown, but less than 50)

The unincorporated historic community along the border of Collin County and Grayson County. Named after one of the daughters of J. R. Gough, attorney, state senator and one-time owner of most of the land in that area.

Celina (2020 estimated population: 18,000)

City in Collin County. John T. Mulkey, the town’s first postmaster, named it after Celina, Tennessee. That Celina was named after the daughter of local pioneer entrepreneur and educator, Moses Fisk.

Finally, Rever has become my GoTo route planning and recording solution since it relevant to our various forms of transport, however, you can find a Google MyMaps plot HERE and a downloadable GPX export from Rever HERE

Safe travels – Tim and Ann XXX