Thomas Marsalis

Thomas Lafayette Marsalis (October 4, 1852 – April 20, 1919 ) was an American developer. With John S. Armstrong, the founder of Oak Cliff, he was one of the key developers of what is now known as the Dallas area.

Early life Marsalis was born in Amite County, Mississippi, near New Orleans, Louisiana. The Marsalis family were Dutch Reformed who had immigrated to North America in 1661. They had settled in New Jersey before Thomas Marsalis's grandfather moved to Mississippi.

Marsalis spent his childhood in Louisiana. He moved to Corsicana, Texas, where Marsalis and a partner started a wholesale grocery house. In 1872 he moved to Dallas to start his own wholesale business. This was reportedly one of "the largest and most successful operations of its kind in the South, doing $750,000 worth of business annually by 1877." The area was named Oak Cliff. Development began in November 1887 when lots were auctioned by the company. An elevated railway was built, connecting Oak Cliff with the Dallas courthouse. The area was called a "beautiful suburb of Dallas." There was a public bath project planned at Kidd Springs, and, in various promotional material, the area was compared to Cambridge, Massachusetts. He reportedly spent a total of million dollars promoting the new development.

Oak Cliff incorporated in 1890. The population was about 3,000 residents.

Marsalis, by this point in time, had invested almost $1 million in his city. He was a founder of and president of the Oak Cliff Hotel Company, Oak Cliff Light and Power Company, Oak Cliff Water Supply Company, and Dallas and Oak Cliff Railroad Company, in addition to continuing to oversee the Dallas Land and Loan Company. Development abruptly stopped thanks to the Panic of 1893 and Marsalis was financially ruined. He went bankrupt and sold all his interests in his various companies,

According to Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, the 1910 Census shows his residence as New York City while local papers announced his death in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1919.

The of park land he had set aside for Oak Cliff is now the location of Dallas’ Marsalis Park and Zoo.

Honors A street running next to the Dallas Zoo connecting north and south Oak Cliff, Marsalis Avenue, as well as Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary School are named in his honor.