Central Park is an 8-acre public city park in the Frisco Bridges development in Frisco, Texas (a far north suburb of Dallas). Central Park has large sculptures of a cattle drive, situated among water fountains and man-made creeks and ponds. Central Park commemorates "The Oldest North-South Trail," the Shawnee Trail that led settlers and cattle drives in the 1800's through what would become Frisco, Texas.

The park has documented historical facts and quotes from the cattle drives on the Shawnee Trail all over the park on flat stones and on all the stairs that lead to the highest point in the park. The dozens of facts and antedotal quotes are too numerous to list, but I will include one of each....."It's the far-off cows that wear the biggest horns"....."Over 350,000 cattle per year were driven up the Texas cattle trails for 28 years."

The focal point of Central Park is a round plateau at the highest point in the park, that has walls with memorial plaques, and two water fountains that feed man-made creeks lined with large red rocks that gently cascade and meander down the front and rear of the park to man-made ponds.

Downhill in all directions from the plateau, there are sidewalks and creeks that flow down to the edges of the park, through beautiful landscaped gardens with trees, shrubs, flowers, cactus, and big red rocks. It is a very nice setting. From the front of the plateau, there are about ten large sculptures visible from the street that look like a cattle drive along the man-made creek coming down the small hill. The sculptures include two cowboys on horseback driving about eight (or so) cattle up the Shawnee Trail.

Central Park also has ponds, an amphitheater, and a picnic area. Although the park is very nice and scenic, it is very new and the trees are small, so there is limited shade to provide relief from the Texas heat.

Central Park is located north of Dallas in Frisco, right behind the huge (1.6 million square foot) Stonebriar Centre Mall (see my journal entry). To get there, take Preston Road (also known as Texas 289) north of Dallas, through the city of Plano to Frisco, Texas and turn left at Gaylord Parkway (you will see the white stone Frisco Bridges markers). Central Park will be near the corner of Gaylord Parkway and Parkwood Boulevard.

If you are interested in the history of Texas cattle drives, you should also see Pioneer Plaza in downtown Dallas (see my journal entry), and the sculptures and memorials in The Centre of Preston Ridge shopping center, which is in Frisco and very close to Central Park.