Borrowed Land…

Hip Pocket Theatre resides on borrowed land. Here is a bit of the history about the indigenous people that once occupied the land where Hip Pocket Theatre sits off Silver Creek Road.

Our part of North Texas was largely occupied by nomadic tribes who moved through the area seasonally. The archeological evidence suggests close to 12,000 years of human habitation in our region. This was the southern range of the great bison herds, so their migrations dictated when people were here. Among the earliest indigenous people were likely the Tonkawas and Hassinai Caddos, followed by the Wichita. By the mid 1700s, the Comanche and Wichita had crafted peaceful relations and by the end of the century the Comanche-affiliated Kiowas also moved into the area. By the time the first settlers began to migrate into the region during the days of the Republic of Texas, our area was part of the huge land area controlled by the Comanche, with a continuing presence of Tonkawas and smaller tribes that traded with the settlers. Texas was notorious for it vacillating policies of peaceful coexistence and extermination. The Comanche were ultimately subdued in the 1870's and Texas expelled virtually all remaining tribes by 1886. It's interesting to note, though, that one of the largest urban populations of Native-Americans today is in Dallas-Fort Worth.

There's a 1,500 year old hearth site stretching from Lake Worth off Silver Creek Road to the address site where Hip Pocket resides.

The presence remains all around us.

-Quentin McGown, Historian and President of the Hip Pocket Board.