Elm Thicket-Northpark Neigborhood, Police Looking For Missing Golfer Statue

The Elm Thicket-Northpark neighborhood and Dallas police are investigating how a statue commemorating the first municipal golf course for people of color in the southern U.S. went missing.

The neighborhood celebrated the dedication of the historical marker and six-foot, 300-pound statue of a golfer this summer in lieu of the neighborhood Juneteenth parade.

The statue and historical marker commemorate the Hilliard Memorial Golf Course in the 6700 block of Mabel Avenue near Dallas Love Field in the Elm Thicket-Northpark neighborhood. The golf course was built in 1950 and remained open until it was bulldozed for the expansion of Dallas Love Field in 1955.

“It’s a art piece that went along with the historical marker for Hilliard Golf Course, the first golf course built for African Americans in the southern United States. That says everything that could be said about the history and the proud history not only of our neighborhood, but of the significance of that golf course,” said Elm Thicket-Northpark Neighborhood Association President Jonathan Maples. “We wanted a way to capture that history and let the world and future generations know that this was here.”

Dallas police say their preliminary information indicates the statue was stolen overnight on Sept. 24. No arrests have been made as of Oct. 22, and the investigation is ongoing.

“I’m kind of curious as to who would take a six-foot, over 300-pound statue of a golfer,” Maples said. “It’s very unfortunate and it’s very disappointing to our senior citizens because all the history and the historical markers and things that we do in that community are … to praise our senior citizens and our ancestors, but it’s also to leave behind something for the young people so that they know where they come from.”

Maples encouraged anyone who may have information or may have seen something to contact him at 214-868-5760. Dallas police are also asking anyone with information to contact police at 214-329-8909.

The news of the missing statue was first reported by our sister publication D Magazine.

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Rachel Snyder

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Rachel Snyder, managing editor at People Newspapers, first joined the staff in 2019. She's covered everything from Dallas and University Park municipal government to business. Rachel began her journalism career at the daily newspaper The Express Star in Chickasha, Okla. She went on to work for the daily Duncan Banner in Duncan, Okla. the weekly Sand Springs Leader, and WFAA-TV in Dallas. She’s a fan of puns and community journalism, not necessarily in that order.