Submitted by Becky Bertoni
Through all the years of volunteering at Green Acres Farm Memorial Park in Flower Mound, from redoing the iris beds in front of the barn in 2010, I have wondered about Larry and Agnes Davis. These wonderful people owned the property and donated it to the Town of Flower Mound in 2005. We incorporated the top part of their hot horse exerciser into our monarch station for purple passionflower to grow on. We could see a trace of a horse arena in the northwest corner, where Flower Mound’s tree farm is now, so I thought they taught horseback riding. I pictured parents watching at the old green shelter there, and I figured Agnes Davis planted the irises around many of the trees.
Park visitors shared bits and pieces from the Davis days. Neighbors walking their dogs at Green Acres would say that the barn was much longer when the Davises were there. I heard about Tennessee Walking Horses there and competing—so maybe the Davises showed horses, and there were no horseback riding lessons.
This spring, with a concerted effort to learn the history of Green Acres for the Green Acres iNaturalist Photography Exhibit at the Flower Mound Library, I was fortunate to speak with Wayne, Larry Davis’s daughter. She lived with her husband Bob in the house by the barn, while Larry and Agnes Davis lived in the big house on the hill. Wayne was the one who competed successfully with the Tennessee Walking Horses at Green Acres Farm, and Bob was the trainer.
It Was Like Camelot
Wayne loved her stepmom Agnes. She described her as born with a platinum spoon in her mouth. Agnes was raised in Drumthwacket, which is now the governor’s mansion in New Jersey. She came to Texas in 1942 when she married John McLean. Like Grace Kelly, she was an elegant lady who lit up a room.
Larry Davis, Wayne’s father, was responsible for the flowers around the property. He grew orchids and bougainvillea in greenhouses by their home. He filled beds around the home and along the driveway with cannas, irises, and daylilies. Larry kept the land mowed and trees trimmed for leisurely horseback riding over the property up to Wichita Trail.
Move To The Country
Agnes and Larry were married in 1968 and moved a year later from Dallas to Flower Mound. They each had a daughter interested in horses, so they bought Frank Mason’s Tennessee Walking Horse farm, which was the current park property and the section to the east with a pond.
The original long barn, the small house by the barn where Wayne and Bob lived, the two silos for storage, and the house Agnes and Larry moved into at the top of the driveway were on the Green Acres section. These all were built by Frank D Mason.
Mason, also from Dallas, had bought the property in 1964 for his Tennessee Walking Horses; it was called Frank Mason Stables. The house by the barn was for his horse trainer. Eventually, Frank Mason put a concrete floor in the barn and used it for storage.
Green Acres Farm
One of the first things the Davises did was break up the concrete barn floor to have a dirt floor again for their Tennessee Walking Horses and broodmares. The pieces of concrete became the borders around trees for flower beds. Some concrete pieces have been repurposed again for the monarch station border.
The Davises added rooms to the house on the hill and painted the house white. They added a swimming pool and greenhouses. Agnes painted recipes on the white kitchen tiles, including drink recipes such as “Green Acres Haybaler.”
The couple enjoyed farm life. Larry dug post holes for the driveway border fence and told visitors to catch grasshoppers to feed his peacocks. Agnes would pitch in with farm chores, like mowing on a tractor. Larry started calling her “Mrs. Douglas” after the popular 1960’s “Green Acres” TV show character, and so their farm became Green Acres Farm. Agnes had Rhode Island Reds and Guineas in the chicken coop behind the barn and routinely took eggs to friends in cartons labeled “From the Girls at Green Acres.”
“Horses Were Our Lives”
Their horse farm started with Saddlebred horses and Tennessee Walking Horses, but in 1976 they moved to only Tennessee Walkers. They boarded and sold horses, and the pasture had brood mares and foals. There were two rings for training the Tennessee Walking Horses, the one I knew about in the northwest corner, and a celebration-size ring in the southwest corner.
Wayne liked their metal barn because it was built to last. There were 14 horse stalls and room for storing their horse feed. The barn was heated with gas heat down the center, and the sides could be opened up in the summer for ventilation. The front room of the barn was a party room with chandeliers. They had parties with catered food and ice sculptures for Christmas and horse shows, like the Big D Charity Horse Show and the State Fair of Texas.
Agnes would ride with a lovely saddle with silver trim. In the spring, they would ride through their properties up to Wichita Trail through bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush.
Wayne and her husband Bob were dedicated to raising and training the Tennessee Walkers. Over many years, they were big winners, with 18 World Champions, two World Grand Champions, and four World Reserve Champions. The trophy room in the barn was filled with blue ribbons and trophies, and there were many parties in the barn party room.
Camelot Becomes a Park
Agnes passed away in 1994, and some time afterward, Wayne and Bob moved away. Larry Davis died in 2005, and the Green Acres Farm property became a 13-acre park.
Now the big house on the hill and the house by the barn are gone, the swimming pool is filled in, and the land is kept mowed, but it still feels like being in the country there. Visitors enjoy walking and running, picnicking, and taking photos. Master naturalists and other volunteers care for the bluebird boxes, monarch station, prairie restoration, and riparian area. Visit the park at 4400 Hide-A-Way Lane in Flower Mound.
You can view over 4,000 iNaturalist photos of over 800 species of plants, fungi, animals, and insects at the park at inaturalist.org/projects/green-acres-farm-memorial-park.
