Ben H. Carpenter - Irving, TX - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

The statue is larger than life size. It depicts a man in a suit and tie. The suit jacket is unbuttoned and the wind has blown it open. In the left hand he holds a hat. In his right hand he holds a large rolled up blueprint drawing.

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lascolinas.org

Ben H. Carpenter (1924-2006) was born in Texas to John and Flossie Carpenter. He was their third child. John Carpenter made his fortune from electric utilities and he became president of Texas Power & Light in 1927.

John bought the Hackberry Creek Ranch (a few hundred acres) which would someday become Las Colinas when Ben was 4 years old.

By 1948, John Carpenter, Sr. had bought neighboring properties, expanding the ranch to nearly 1,500 acres. Ben, who had returned from his service in World War II, completed his degree in Business Administration at the University of Texas and married Elizabeth Ann Dupree, who was called Betty. The couple moved to Hackberry Creek Ranch, settling in a house on the property’s highest hill, and there they reared their five children.

Development was beginning to move outward from Dallas and Irving, crawling slowly toward them. While the ranch was still remote, it wouldn’t remain that way much longer.

Ben and Betty Carpenter lived on Hackberry Creek Ranch for 49 years. During that time, the land was transformed from open country, where livestock had to be protected from coyotes and wild dogs, to a corporate mecca of unparalleled quality and reputation. When faced with the inevitable, Ben took fate by the hand and turned his beloved ranchito into Las Colinas.

Ben created lakes and canals that followed the path of existing creeks. He built the Las Colinas Equestrian Center and deed-restricted it to ensure its continuity. And he left fully one-third of the development’s land as open space.

URL of the statue: Not listed

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