Committee discusses protecting original Terrell streets from renaming

Committee members flagged the city's list of original streets — compiled from Dr. Horace Flatt's research at the local museum — as candidates for a protected-historic list in the naming policy.

"I sent Nicole a list of the original streets, in Terrell in the survey, and that comes from Doctor Horace Flatt's research that we have at the museum," Speaker 2 said, noting the Terrell Heritage Society and others view those early streets as founding names the committee should protect. Members debated whether to include a fixed list (naming specific streets such as Francis, Virginia, Anne and High) or to leave the policy more open-ended so the committee can add streets later.

Some members recommended creating a named 'historical street' list while also allowing staff and future committees the flexibility to add streets as further research identifies them. The committee asked staff to compile the set of candidate streets and to include explanatory text for the committee's website so future members understand the historical rationale.