About French Creek Village
Military History
French Creek Village (FCV) was born as a subdivision in 1975 when Brig. Gen. Travis M. Hetherington and Col. Earl Hardy submitted the restrictive deeds and covenants to the state of Texas. It was originally designed to appeal to military families with Veteran Administration financing.
It is a fairly small neighborhood with approximately 317 homes presently built in the 375 home plans. There was no swimming pool and no tennis courts and no mandatory homeowner’s association at the time.
Street names are those of Gen. Hetherington and Col. Hardy’s families. Originally, Gen. Heatherington and Col. Hardy requested that the streets be named for Texas Medal of Honor recipients but the County turned downed the request.
French Creek Village Street Names
-
The streets of Susan Elaine and Mary Carolyn were named for Gen. Heatherington and his wife Lois’ 2 daughters.
-
Both daughters worked for their Dad in his development business, with Susan contributing to some of the FCV home decorating and Mary working in the financial end of the business.
-
Missy Court is named after Susan Elaine’s daughter (Melissa Elaine) whom everyone called Missy.
-
Melinda Court is named after Mary Carolyn’s daughter (Melinda Diane).
-
The street of George Kyle was named after Gen. Heatherington’s father.
-
Thomas Broughton is named after Col. Thomas Broughton (1668-1737), who was an official during the colonial era; a descendant of his, Margaret Broughton, was George Kyle Heatherington’s mother, Gen. Heatherington’s Grandmother.
-
Tippitt Trail is named for Erastus Tippitt (1760-1800), an ancestor of Lois Heatherington. Also a little known fact is that a descendent of Erastus is J.D. Tippitt; J.D. Tippitt was the Dallas police officer killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 after Oswald had killed President Kennedy.
-
Swinburne Court is named after John Brynes Swinburne (1851-1942). Since John’s older brother would have inherited everything, as was the tradition as that time, John emigrated to the U.S. from England seeking his own fortune, working as a railroad conductor for most of his life. He married a “Tippitt” and they lived in Waco.
-
Louisa Allen is named after Louisa Virginia Hudson Allen (1821-1897). With her 2nd husband, Louisa had 9 children. But when he died, a “guardian” was appointed since women, at that time, were not allowed to be a “head of family”. Louisa was always at odds with the guardian! She then married a man 15 years her junior with whom she had 2 more children – a real “pistol” and an original “cougar”! Her granddaughter married John Byrnes Swinburne.
The French Creek Village Homeowners’ Association (FCVHOA)
The French Creek Village Homeowners' Association began in 1978 by a group of property owners; Ron Cravens, Ben Coward, Virgil Veteck, and Anna Preice, as a strictly voluntary organization of which membership is not required of any resident/homeowner. The charter was drawn up and filed with the State of Texas and the original founders adopted Bylaws of the Association. FCVHOA was charted as a non-mandatory homeowners association because there was no organization specified in the original restrictive deeds and covenants in 1975.
The pool and tennis courts were built in 1978 at the expense of the builders and were deeded to the FCVHOA in 1994. The FCVHOA is responsible for managing and maintaining the swimming pool, tennis courts, the entry way sign and other common grounds in the subdivision. All French Creek Village residents are encouraged to become members of the association.
French Creek Village also welcomes non-resident membership to our recreation facilities to all neighboring communities that do not have access to a pool or tennis courts. Contact any FCVHOA Board Member to obtain information.