In an effort to continue the continuity of historic names along the streets of downtown Magnolia, the City of Magnolia has renamed Betty Hall Street to Dean Street.

At its regular meeting held Sept. 13, council unanimously agreed to change Betty Hall Street to Dean Street.

Council member Anne Sundquist said that in the historical downtown portion of Magnolia, each street carries the name of a founding family of Magnolia.

She said Betty Hall Street was the only street that did not have ties with the history of Magnolia. Sundquist explained that council wanted the historical portion of downtown Magnolia to be consistent with founding family names.

Mayor Todd Kana said other street names, such as Yawn Street carried historical significance as the Yawns were another founding family of Magnolia. He said this was an attempt to make downtown Magnolia uniform.

Sundquist suggested Dean Street.

The Dean family moved to Magnolia in 1901, according to Henry Dean, who is the oldest living family member on his father’s.

Dean said his grandfather, Frank Dean, and great uncles Roy Dean and Willie Dean opened Dean Brothers in what is now the Signs of Magnolia store located on Magnolia Boulevard.

The famous Yellow House belonged to his grandmother.

He said his mother Lillian and father Frank Jr. opened Magnolia Foods, which was later owned by his brother and then his nephew Frank Dean IV who eventually sold the store.

Dean and his wife Nina opened Texas House Antiques on Magnolia Boulevard when he was only 20 years old. The store just celebrated its 46th anniversary.

Nina also works at the Malcolm Purvis Library.

Dean’s son, Daniel, owns and operates Dean’s Tree Service.

Sundquist added that Beverly Robison-Dean was also her former principal at Magnolia Elementary and the Dean family built the home she currently resides in 1906.

“The Deans were very active here,” Sundquist explained.

Kana said changing the road to Dean Street is a better reflection of the history and founding families of Magnolia.

Henry laughed as he said “If you live long enough, you get your picture in a book or a street named after you.”

Betty Hall Street will eventually be marked along a different street, according to council.

Betty Hall was an active resident in the Magnolia community; however, her roots were not in Magnolia, according to Sundquist. Hall passed away about five years ago. Following her death the street was named after her.

Council said they will be looking into another street, not located in the historical downtown portion of Magnolia, to rename Betty Hall.

In other Magnolia street news, council agreed to rename 6th Street to Unity Park Drive. This decision comes after council decided to connect 6th Street to Unity Park Drive at the intersection of Unity Park Drive and Cloyd Street.

The distance between 6th Street and Cloyd Street is about 756 feet, according to council.

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