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Tarrant County TXGenWeb Hiram McGar, Jr.
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Contributed by Max Hill
Hiram McGar, Jr. was born Dec. 12, 1863 in Texas, the son of Hiram McGar
and his wife, Mary Shackelford. In 1870, they lived in Waller County. His
name first appears in Fort Worth in the 1901 City Directory as owner of the
Watkins and McGar Saloon at 110 E. 12th Street. Around 1905, he was in
partnership with Joseph Patterson and Eugene McGill, as proprietors of the
Capitol Bar at 301 W. 13th Street. By 1907, he had his own saloon at 109
E. 10th until 1912 when he moved to the 900 block of Jones
Street.1 That establishment was involved in a famous police
shooting on May 15, 1913. Tommy Lee, an African-American porter, was enraged
because of losses in a craps game. He found Walter Moore, an African-American
expressman, in McGar's poolroom and shot him with a shotgun. Officer John
A. Ogletree who went in pursuit of Lee was shot and killed. Lee wounded five
other people before accidently shooting himself. A mob gathered at the jail
to take him for a lynching, and eventually went to the Black Business District,
destroying homes, stores and saloons - probably including McGar's establishment.
In 1916, McGar was president of the Colored Texas League who played at McGar's
Park - one block south of Panther Park, where the Texas League Fort Worth
Cats played.2 By 1920 he was owner/manager of the Fort
Worth team of the Texas Negro League who played at Panther Park when the
Panthers were on the road. With the coming of prohibition in 1920, McGar
switched from saloons to soft drinks. In 1922 he was Vice President of the
Citizens' Drug Store at 907½ Jones Street, the same location as his
saloon, and he continued to rent furnished rooms. He had married Agnes [surname
not known] about 1910. Hiram McGar, Jr. died Dec. 13, 1930 and was buried
in Trinity Cemetery, a portion of Oakwood Cemetery which is reserved for
African-Americans.
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This page was last modified 29 Dec 2004. Copyright © Tarrant County TXGenWeb 2004. All rights reserved |