Many visitors to Dallas might expect that only the rough and rowdy frontiersman of the Wild West settled in the Dallas of the mid-1800s. The last thing that they might expect is to discover that Dallas was home to a rather interesting French, Belgian and Swiss utopia: La Reunion.

These Utopians were Fourierists, who named themselves after the French philosopher, Francois Marie Charles Fourier, and attempted to follow his social theories. The settlement was located three miles west of the Trinity River and was established in 1852.

The Frenchman Victor Considerant founded the group. He was a member of the revolutionary republicans of 1848 France. Pursued for his revolutionary activities, he and his followers believed that America was the perfect place for continuing their following of Fourier. After examining different locations in the United States and networking with several Americans, Considerant came to choose 12,000 acres of land in Dallas County. Considerant even published a propaganda book in Europe called To Texas, which detailed the teachings of Fourier and the freedom that Texas life had to offer.

The book made headway all over Europe among ardent Fourierists and many joined Considerant's colony. The colony, however, survived no longer than three years. Desire for individualism ultimately broke its socialist structures. It is perhaps the liberty of the Texas frontier that brought out their individualism; the society had disbanded by 1856.

Today, three miles east of La Reunion’s former location, the Reunion Tower and the Reunion Arena now stand in downtown Dallas. The 12,000 acres originally belonging to La Reunion were absorbed by the city of Dallas in 1860.