Historical Markers in Fort Worth, Texas

Herbert M. Hinckley

Engineering innovator who designed this dome for 1936 Texas Centennial. Staked reputation on plan (which uses a unique way of connecting radial arches at peak) despite doubts of many experts. Also designed nearby tower,…

Administration Building · 1962

Erected by old Polytechnic College, a coeducational school organized 1890 by Bishop J. S. Key, on site given by A. S. and W. D. Hall and George Tandy. This hall, of Texas limestone, was built 1902 in presidential term…

Knights of Pythias · 1962

Erected in 1881; rebuilt in 1901, following fire, by noted local architects Sanguinet and Staats. Style similar to North European city hall or medieval guild hall. This is first Pythian Castle Hall built in the United…

Saint Ignatius Academy Building · 1962

The first Catholic School in Fort Worth, St. Ignatius Academy was organized by the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur in 1885. The first classes were held in a house purchased from Jacob Smith. This four-story limestone…

Saint Patrick's Cathedral · 1962

Erected 1888-1892 under the direction of the parish priest, the Rev. Jean M. Guyot, a native of France. Stone for walls was quarried locally. Improvised, horse-powered lathes were used to turn and polish the eighteen…

Van Zandt Cottage · 1962

Built in 1860s on stage road to Weatherford, and for generations a haven to travelers during Trinity River floods, this was the country home of Khleber Miller Van Zandt (1836-1930), who was known as "Mr. Fort Worth." A…

Home Town of Texas Confederate General H.P. Mabry · 1964

A Georgian. Came to Texas 1851. Admitted to bar. Texas Legislator 1856-60. With Confederate expedition capturing Forts Washita and Arbuckle, Indian Territory, April-May 1861. June 1861 joined 3rd Tex. Cav. Helped win…

Home Town of Texas Confederate Major K.M. Van Zandt · 1964

Born in Tennessee. Came to Texas 1939. Was son of Republic of Texas Minister to the United States. K.M. Van Zandt was admitted to the Bar in 1858. Raised Co. D, 7th Tex. Inf., 1861. Fought in snows at Fort Donelson,…

Texas in the Civil War: Confederate Veterans · 1965

From 1865 until World War I, Civil War veterans were leaders in economic and public life in Texas. Every locality had its United Confederate Veterans camp, with yearly reunions. Texas railroads gave free passes to…

Cattle Brands · 1966

Proof of ownership since 600 B.C.; in Texas since 1821. Registered in counties and burned on hides of cattle. Every owner has individual brand. In Texas these aggregate several thousand. History of Texas is displayed…

Ida Saunders Hall · 1966

Old home of Wm. Edrington Scott (1899-1961), who gave to Fort Worth the unique Scott Theater for all the performing arts. Built in 1903 and bought by Woman's Club in 1929. Named for a leader in the Fort Worth Woman's…

Oakwood Cemetery · 1966

Founded 1879 by John Peter Smith, one of Fort Worth's first settlers, who became a civic leader, mayor, philanthropist. He gave 20 acres to city; cemetery since enlarged to 100 acres. The area contains three cemeteries:…

Ann Waggoner Hall · 1967

Texas Wesleyan University,Ann Waggoner Fine Arts Building, northeast corner Wesleyan and E. Rosedale streets

First TV in Texas · 1967

Florence Shuman Hall · 1967

Named for charter member of Fort Worth Woman's Club. Early cottage, built here, 1905, was rebuilt by pioneer civic leader, W.R. Edrington, in 1910. Woman's Club, formed in 1923, bought house year later as a center for…

Fort Worth Library · 1967

Seeking funds for a public library, local woman asked the philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, to donate "the price of a good cigar". He gave $50,000. With that and substantial local gifts, including land donated by Mrs.…

Fort Worth Livestock Exchange · 1967

Headquarters, one of greatest cattle markets in the world. In late 1860s Fort Worth was stop on cattle trails. Market for West Texas organized 1870s. First trader, T. B. Saunders, Sr., soon was joined by others. First…

Margaret Meacham Hall · 1967

Named in honor of Mrs. H.C. Meacham, charter member and many years a Director of Fort Worth Woman's Club. House built, 1905, by J.F. Moore; sold, 1920, to Baptist Hospital as Nurses Residence. Bought by Woman's Club,…

Texas Log Cabins · 1967

These authentic log cabins, built by pioneers 100 years ago, recall a way of life in early Texas when great courage was required to meet the hardships of frontier existence. Constant threats from Indians, poor crops,…

William G. Newby Memorial Building · 1967

Herman Frerichs, a cotton exporter from Bremen, Germany, built this house in 1910-1911. He and his family were on vacation in Germany at the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and were not allowed to return to the United…

Second Site of the Old Wayside School · 1968

Founded 1883 on site in Dozier community, given by W.E. Boswell. Situated 1898-1948 in 2 successive buildings on land given by A.W. Moore. Now in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw District, which includes W.E. Boswell High School,…

Fort Worth "Where the West Begins" · 1969

Founded June 6, 1849, as frontier post of Co. F., 2nd Dragoons, 8th Dept., U.S. Army. The commander, Maj. Ripley Arnold, named camp for his former superior officer, Maj. Gen William Jenkins Worth. In 4 years of…

Tarrant County Courthouse · 1969

Designed by firm of Gunn & Curtis and built by the Probst Construction Company of Chicago, 1893-1895. This red Texas granite building, in Renaissance Revival style, closely resembles the Texas State Capital with the…

First Christian Church of Fort Worth · 1970

City's pioneer congregation. Organized by the Rev. A.M. Dean, who with hymn book and revolver came in 1855 to the riotous six-year-old hamlet on the Trinity. He held services (at present Belknap and Houston streets) in…

Flatiron Building · 1970

Known in early 1900s as the tallest building in North Texas. Erected 1907 for the renowned Dr. Bacon Saunders, Dean of City Medical College; Chief Surgeon, nine railroads; acclaimed as a pioneer of medicine in Texas.…

Santa Fe Depot · 1970

Built 1899. Beaux Arts design features native stone banding. When intact, north windows of painted glass depicted travel from Pony Express to steam locomotives. Visitors here have included such world figures as…

Benton House · 1971

Victorian Gingerbread Cottage. Erected by pioneer businessman Meredith A. Benton in 1898, when the 4-lot site was "out in the country," and young Mrs. Benton (formerly of St. Louis) feared the Wild West. Designed by…

Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary · 1972

Chartered March 14, 1908, for graduate education in Christian ministries. Moved here in 1910 from Waco, Texas. Original 200-acre campus tract and first building, Fort Worth Hall, were gifts of people of Fort Worth.…

Camp Bowie in World War I · 1973

Headquarters, 36th Division, United States Army, 1917-1919. Established to train Texas National Guard and Oklahoma National Guard, after the U.S. entered World War I April 1917. Named for James Bowie (1795-1836), one of…

First Hundred Years of Texas Christian University · 1973

Founded during 19th century Christian Restoration Movement, by Joseph Addison Clark (1815-1901) and sons Addison (1842-1911) and Randolph (1844-1935). Joseph A. Clark, born in Illinois, came to Republic of Texas in…

The Edna Gladney Home · 1974

The Rev. Issac Z.T. Morris and his wife began in 1887 to care for orphans and abandoned children in Fort Worth, keeping them in their family home. Their work led to chartering (1904) of the Texas Children's Home & Aid…

Fort Worth-Yuma Mail (Star Post Route No. 31454) · 1976

By the 1870s remote areas of the frontier not served by the railroads needed mail delivery routes. In response the U.S. Post Office Department, in 1873, began establishing Star Post Routes. On Aug. 15, 1878, Star Route…

Woman's Club of Fort Worth · 1976

Women from eleven social and study groups, some formed before 1900, joined in 1923 to create the Woman's Club of Fort Worth. Miss Anna Shelton, who led the unification drive, served as the first President of the club.…

Pollock-Capps House · 1977

Built in 1898 for Dr. Joseph R. Pollock (1856-1941), this mansion was sold to William Capps (1858-1925) and wife Sallie (1864-1946), whose family lived here 1909 to 1971. On the grounds were a golf course, tennis court,…

Thistle Hill, The Cattle Baron's Mansion · 1977

Designed by Sanguinet & Staats, this Georgian Revival structure was built in 1903 for A.B. Wharton (1878-1963) and his bride Electra (1882-1925), daughter of rancher W.T. Waggoner (1852-1934). Electra named the mansion…

Baldridge House · 1978

This property was part of the original Chamerlain-Arlington Heights development of the 1890s. Earl and Florence Baldridge built this elegant residence in 1910-13. Designed by the architectural firm of Sanguinet &…

Gunhild Weber House · 1978

This was the first home built in a 1907 subdivision opened by D.T. Bomar and John W. Broad. It shows influences from the West Coast, where Broad lived from 1896 to 1906. Charles K. Lee, later a State Bar Association,…

Mt. Zion Baptist Church · 1978

On Dec. 25, 1894, state evangelist the Rev. Frank Tribune organized this Baptist church with five members: Ella and Lee Brooks, Katie Patterson, Laura Purvis, and Josephine Wells. With help from the Rev. Dr. A.R.…

Neil P. Anderson Building · 1978

Neil P. Anderson (1847-1912) lived in Fort Worth by 1882. A talented broker, he helped this city set the pace for cotton trading in the inland markets of the Southwest. His firm had Sanguinet & Staats design this…

Camp Bowie Boulevard · 1979

In 1917-18, this roadway was the main artery through Camp Bowie, a World War I training center. Narrow strips of asphalt paving flanked streetcar tracks that ran the length of the avenue, then called Arlington Heights…

Governor Charles A. Culberson · 1979

(June 10, 1855 - March 19, 1925) A native of Alabama, Charles A. Culberson grew up in Jefferson, Texas. He married Sallie Harrison (1861-1926) in 1882 after earning his law degree at the University of Virginia. During…

Land Title Building · 1979

Pioneer architects Haggart and Sanguinet designed this brick, sandstone and cast iron building with rounded arched windows and other ornate details. It featured the first known stone carving in Fort Worth, the figure of…

Mitchell-Schoonover Home · 1979

James E. Mitchell, a jeweler, demanded a high degree of skilled craftsmanship in the construction of this house. Completed in 1907, it was designed by the Fort Worth architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats. A friend,…

Pioneer's Rest Cemetery · 1979

This burial ground was started in the summer of 1850 upon the deaths of Sophie and Willis Arnold, children of Major Ripley A. Arnold (1817-1853), commander of the troops at Fort Worth. Arnold's friend, Doctor Adolphus…

Saint Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church · 1979

The first Mass for this Roman Catholic parish was held in 1909 in a small wooden church which burned in 1922. This Romanesque Revival structure was designed by the well-known firm of Sanguinet, Staats and Hedrick. It…

Site of Randol Mill · 1979

In 1856 Archibald F. Leonard (1816-1876) built a dam and grain mill at this site. Hiram Crowley became a partner. The mill became a community center and county voting place. During widespread abolition violence in 1860,…

Tannahill Homestead · 1979

In 1853 Scottish-born Robert Watt Tannahill (1821-1885) and his wife Mary Catherine (Smallwood) came here from Mississippi. In 1856 Tannahill patented this 320-acre tract on the Fort Worth-Azle Road. He used rocks from…

Atelier Building · 1980

Developer Thomas S. Weaver had this structure built about 1905. Named "Atelier", the French word for an artist's studio, it has housed the offices of architects and contractors, a restaurant, and financial institutions,…

Eddleman-McFarland House · 1980

Designed by Howard Messer, this Victorian house was built in 1899 for Sarah C. Ball (1825-1904), widow of Galveston banker George Ball. William H. Eddelman (1850-1932), a local banker, bought the home in 1904 and in…

Euday Louis Bowman · 1980

(Nov. 9, 1886 - May 26, 1949) Fort Worth native Euday Bowman was a ragtime composer. His best known song was the classic "12th Street Rag," which he wrote about his experiences in Kansas City, Kansas. Copyrighted in…

Fort Worth Main Post Office Buiding · 1980

Fort Worth Main Post Office Building The Fort Worth post office was established in 1856 with pioneer settler Julian Feild serving as postmaster. The central offices were moved here in 1933 when this building was…

Fort Worth Public Market Building · 1980

Oklahoma City developer John J. Harden had this commercial structure built in 1930 to provide market space for local farmers, vendors, and retail businesses. Designed by B. Gaylor Noftsger, also of Oklahoma City, it…

John Peter Smith · 1980

A native of Kentucky, John Peter Smith migrated to Fort Worth in 1853. He worked as a teacher, clerk, and surveyor before his appointment as Deputy Surveyor of the Denton Land Department in 1855, for which he received…

Paddock Viaduct · 1980

Low-water crossing and ferries originally provided the only access across the Trinity River at this location, connecting the downtown area of Fort Worth with northern sections of the city. A two-lane suspension bridge,…

Site of Fort Worth-Dallas Interurban · 1980

In 1901 the Texas Legislature authorized the Northern Texas Traction Company of Fort Worth to extend rail service to Dallas. The interurban system, powered by overhead electrical lines, was completed one year later. The…

Texas & Pacific Railroad Passenger Terminal · 1980

A line of the Texas & Pacific Railroad was extended to Fort Worth in 1876 and proved vital to the economic growth of the City. Company officials, led by the President John L. Lancaster, had this Passenger Terminal…

Texas Spring Palace · 1980

Following a suggestion by General R.A. Cameron, an officer of the Fort Worth & Denver Railway, city promoters developed the idea of an annual exhibition for the display of Texas agricultural products. In 1889 they…

The Handley Power Plant and Lake Erie · 1980

The Northern Texas Traction Company built the original plant at this location to generate electrical power for the Fort Worth-Dallas Interurban. Lake Erie provided water for plant operations. The area developed as a…

Elizabeth Boulevard · 1981

This Boulevard, named the wife of developer John C. Ryan, was designed as the first phase of a residential district known as Ryan Place. Elaborate entry gates and the first house, the W.T. Fry home at 1112 Elizabeth,…

Emanuel Hebrew Rest Cemetery · 1981

Fort Worth civic leader John Peter Smith donated land at this site in 1879 for use as a cemetery to serve the early Jewish residents of the City. Maintenance of the grounds was first provided by the Emanuel Hebrew…