A HOME OF THEIR OWN

Juliette Fowler Communities’ care spans 125 years

By WILL MADDOX

It was 125 years ago this month that the charitable vision of one of East Dallas’ first daughters found its legs. Juliette Fowler wanted to make sure children and elderly were safe and comfortable, an idea so simple in concept yet so difficult in logistics. But smart planning and dedicated community support has created a namesake legacy that spans East Dallas’ history.

Kentucky legislator Jefferson Peak traveled through what would become Dallas on his way to fight in the U.S.-Mexican War in the 1840s, and would re- turn to build Dallas’ first brick house in 1855, at what is today the intersection of Worth and Peak in Old East Dallas. He pioneered our neighborhood, apparent by the number of things named for his family.

One of Peak’s 13 children was a spirited, likable young lady named Juliette Abby, who was born in 1837 in Kentucky. After coming to Texas, she was a local beauty who became Dallas’ first May Queen. In Vivian Castleberry’s book “Daughters of Dallas,” Fowler’s niece Olive Peak describes her: “She has a