Bob Jones Nature Center

The mission of the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve is to preserve local natural resources and history by providing places of compatible recreation and fostering education about our natural environment.

Native Americans were using the land long before the Europeans came to what was to become America. The Cross Timbers ecosystem, part of an ancient archipelago that stretched form Canada to South America, was used as a source of fuel for fire, for water, shelter, and for the wildlife that used the interface between the prairies and the forests.

The Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve is named after John Dolford "Bob" Jones, the son and slave of Leaser Alvis Jones and his slave, Elizabeth. His father/slave master purchased a farm east of Roanoke, Texas where Bob served as the sheepherder. After the Civil War, Bob, his brother, and their mother were set free and bought the 60-acre farm. Over time, Bob and his wife, Almeady Chisum, and their 10 children worked the land and expanded the farm until they owned almost 2,500 acres.

In the 1990s, when the City of Southlake acquired land for a new park that included some of Bob and Almeady Jones' farm, the City Council decided unanimously to honor the family by naming the park land Bob Jones Park.

In 2001 the City Council adopted a resolution that supported the creation of a nature center within the park.  A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization was created - the Bob Jones Nature Center & Preserve - dedicated to preserving and providing education about the Cross Timbers ecosystem.