Historical Markers in Tarrant County

Page 8

 



Ralph Mann Homestead

Located at 604 W. Broad St., Mansfield.

A native of South Carolina who came to Texas in the 1850s, Ralph Sandiford Mann (1825-1907) was one of the founders of Mansfield. The town was named for Mann and his brother-in-law and business partner Julian Field. The two men operated a steam-powered grist mill that supplied grain to the Confederacy during the Civil War (1861-1865) and later to U.S. troops at Fort Belknap and Fort Griffin. Mann built the original log portion of this home for his family about 1866 and later added the brick rooms. He donated land for Mansfield Cemetery, where his grave is located. (1977)

 

Rogers-O'Daniel House

Located at 2230 Warner Rd., Fort Worth.

William Joseph Rogers built this residence after purchasing a 137-acre farm here in 1901. Originally a three-story, Queen Anne style frame structure, it was remodeled by W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (1890-1969) in 1925, after the farm was subdivided. O'Daniel had moved to Fort Worth as sales manager for Burrus Mills. He sponsored the Light Crust Doughboys, won election as Governor of Texas, 1939-1941, and sold this property in 1945 while serving as U.S. Senator, 1941-1949.

 

Sandidge-Walker House

Located at 2420 College Ave., Fort Worth.

Cattleman George Sandidge (1873-1965) had this house built about 1921 and sold it four years later to Webb and Gussie Walker. Dr. Walker (1886-1962), was appointed city health officer in 1913 and served in that position for seven years. In 1954, Walker sold the house to St. John's Episcopal Church to serve as its rectory. The Sandidge-Walker house features influences of Prairie School style architecture in its horizontal lines and wide eaves.

 

Smith-Burnett Home

Located at 4910 Crestline Rd., Fort Worth.

This area of Fort Worth became a fashionable subdivision during the early part of the twentieth century and attracted many prominent residents. In 1906 Fort Worth banker Ben O. Smith (1867-1932) purchased land at this site. He built a home here for his wife, Frances, who hosted many Fort Worth social gatherings. In 1916, the home was purchased by Tom Burnett, a prominent cattleman and the son of rancher S. Burk Burnett. The site retains historical significance for its association with these two prominent Fort Worth families.

 

Tannahill Homestead

Located at 9741 Verna Drive, Fort Worth.

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 a nearby creek bank to construct this house in 1874. He served as a Tarrant County Judge and used the front room of this home for a Post Office from 1878 to 1885. This was also a stagecoach station for the first stop west of Fort Worth. The house was sold in 1894 to early pioneer William Thomas Tinsley (1858-1909) and in 1945 to Mrs. Verna Burns Stubbs.

 

Texas Log Cabins

Located at Log Cabin Village on University Drive south of Colonial Parkway, Fort Worth.

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, adverse weather, primitive living conditions did not stop these ingenious people from developing a wilderness into a land of opportunity. The log cabin, a familiar sight in Cross Timbers country of North Texas, was most readily available type of construction to the pioneer and his family. He was too far from a mill to obtain "box lumber." Skill, stamina were needed when preparing logs with such tools at the axe, broad and adze. Styles of fitting corners included "quarter notch" and "dovetail." Oak, cedar and heart pine woods were used. The cabin was a welcome sight to neighbors and saddle-sore travelers. Each told a personal story of frontier life and the family that lived within. The Tomkins cabin was a landmark on Ft. Worth-Belknap Road; visitors were welcome. Isaac Parker cabin was the last home of Cynthia Ann Parker after she was taken from her Comanche family in 1860. This Log Cabin Village was created so that part of the spirit of the Texas frontier would survive.

 

Thistle Hill, The Cattle Baron's Mansion

Located at 1509 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Worth.

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 "Thistle Hill". Cattlemen-investor Winfield Scott (1849-1911) bought the home in 1910 but died before he moved in. His wife Elizabeth (1861-1935) lived her until her death. Occupied by the Girls' Service League, 1940-1968, the house was purchased in 1976 by "Save the Scott Home!" Inc.

 

Thomas G. & Marjorie Shaw House

Located at 2404 East Medford Ct., Fort Worth.

This Monterrey style house was built in 1927 by prominent Fort Worth contractor Bert B. Adams. One of the first houses built in the fashionable Park Hill Addition, it was purchased upon completion by Thomas and Marjorie Shaw. A highly successful independent oil producer, Shaw was associated with the Standard Oil Company and founded the T.G. Shaw Oil Corporation in 1924. Hallmark features of the house include its stucco wall finish and tile roof.

 

Torian Log Cabin

Located at 205 Main St., Grapevine.

This cabin of hand-hewn logs was built along a creek at the edge of the cross timbers near the pioneer community of Dove. It originally stood on a headright settled in 1845 by Francis Throop, a Peters colonist from Missouri. J.C.Wiley bought the property in 1868. He sold it in 1886 to John R. Torian (1836-1909), a farmer from Kentucky. Torian family members occupied the structure until the 1940s. The cabin was moved about four miles to this site in 1976.

 

Van Zandt Cottage

Located in Trinity Park, 2900 Crestline Rd., Fort Worth.

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 know as "Mr. Fort Worth." A Confederate veteran, Major Van Zandt was a merchant, lawyer, banker, railroad builder, State Legislator (1873), opener of frontier lands to settlement, and leader in many civic activities. Structure was restored by the State during Texas Centennial, 1936.

 

Westover Manor

Located at 8 Westover Rd., Westover Hills.

Built in 1929-30 as the flagship for development of Westover Hills, this Norman-Jacobethan revival mansion was selected as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper's "Home Beautiful". John E. Farrell (1891-1946), first Mayor of Westover Hills and co-discover of the vast east Texas oil field in 1931, lived here from 1930 until his death. Designed by architect Victor Marr Curtis, the house exhibits picturesque blend of materials, including brick and rough-cut limestone, and features a bell-cast tower roof, Tudor chimneys, half-timbered gables, and vari-shaded roof tile. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1988

 

William Reeves House

Located at 2200 Hemphill, Fort Worth.

Prominent businessman and philanthropist William Reeves built this home for himself and his wife, Mattie Hosea, in 1907-08. He served as President of Reeves Investments and was President and founder of the First Fort Worth Bank and Trust. The Reeves house exhibits characteristics of the Neo-Classical Revival and Queen Anne styles of architecture. Prominent features include the round pavilion at the entrance and the wrap-around porches with Doric columns.

 

William Terry Allen Log Cabin

Located at the corner of Las Vegas Trail & Rowland, White Settlement.

In 1854 young William Allen (1842-1893) came with his family to Tarrant County from Todd County, Kentucky. By 1857 they had settled at this location on 360 acres. After serving in the Confederate Army, Allen married Sarah Fannie Grant (1849-1870). They bought 160 acres about 1864 and built this 13' x18' cabin on White Settlement Road six miles west of Tarrant County Courthouse. After his first wife died, Allen married her sister Theodocia E. Grant (1854-1931). They added to the cabin several times, including a bedroom, "The Professor's Room". It was reserved during school months for the local teacher. The cabin was the family home until 1908, when a frame cottage was built nearby. In 1933 Allen's heirs sold 22 acres which included the cabin. The new owner moved the cabin north of the original site and enlarged it. In 1953 the land was sold to the United States government for runway additions to Carswell Air Force Base. The cabin was moved to Fort Worth. The White Settlement Historical Society, organized in 1976, raised funds to number the logs and move the dismantled cabin to the present site. It was restored to its original size and opened to groups interested in local history. (1978)

 

Administration Building

Located at Texas Wesleyan College, 1200 block Wesleyan St.,  Fort Worth.

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 of Bishop Hiram A. Boaz. Has continued in use while institution was Texas Woman's College, 1914-1934, and since it became Texas Wesleyan College. Modernized in 1963. Owned by Texas Methodist Conferences.

 

Amon Carter Riverside High School and Riverside ISD

Located at 3301 Yucca Ave., Fort Worth.

A community school system known as Trinity Bend existed as early as 1876 in what is now the Riverside neighborhood of Fort Worth. Classes were held in a one-room schoolhouse built by Dr. Eagle, a retired physician. The Pendleton District was created for this area in 1884, and the name Riverside was adopted fifteen years later. After the City of Fort Worth annexed the Riverside Community in 1922, the school became part of the Fort Worth educational system. In 1941 the school at this site was named for Fort Worth businessman and philanthropist Amon G. Carter. (1983)

 

Azle School

Located at 301 Church St., Azle.

According to local tradition, pioneer settler J.G. Reynolds started the first area school in the 1850s. Early classes were held in log cabins and in the Ash Creek Baptist Church building. Despite interruptions caused by Indian attacks and the Civil War, the Azle Schools grew through consolidation with such nearby schools as Promised Land, Steele, Slover, Sabathany, Liberty, Briar, Bluff Springs and a local college started by William Lipscomb. An Independent District since the 1950s, the Azle School System serves as a reminder of the community's pioneer heritage. (1982)

 

Bedford School

Locatesd at 1801 School Rd., Bedford

The first Bedford area school met in a log building during the early 1860s. After the Civil War classes were held in a frame structure at Spring Garden, north of this site. After it burned in the early 1880s, Milton Moore (1828-1914) deeded land here for construction of Bedford College, an elementary and high school academy. In 1893 it was also destroyed by fire and local citizens raised funds for a new elementary school nearby. It was replaced in 1908 by a 2-story brick schoolhouse. The school consolidated with the Hurst-Euless district in 1958 and the building was used until 1969. (1980)

 

Alice E. Carlson Elementary School

Located at 3320 W. Cantey St., Fort Worth.

Designed by Fort Worth architect Wiley G. Clarkson and built in 1927, this building was enlarged twice, once in 1935 with Works Progress Administration funds and again in 1953 with designs by noted area architect Joseph R. Pelich, Sr. The original classrooms, principal's office and cafeteria were supplemented by additional wings. Named for a teacher who was the first woman to serve on the Fort Worth School Board, the institution shaped the growth of the neighborhood and its children. Architectural features include multilight frame windows and Spanish colonial revival details, including the tile roof and wrought iron lamps. State Archeological Landmark - 1983 Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000

 

Castleberry School District

Located at 5228 Ohio Garden Road, River Oaks.

Certified by the State of Texas as a common school district in 1898, the Marine School No. 3 was housed in a small frame structure erected on land given by local resident Ike Vinchinor. May Manning was the school's first teacher. In 1902 a second room was added, and the school was known as Rosen Heights School No. 2 from that time until 1919. A three-room brick structure was erected in 1919 and the name was changed to the Castleberry Common School District in honor of Zack and Fanny Castleberry, who provided well water to the school. The first parent-teacher association was organized in 1922, beginning a long tradition of cooperation and support between families and faculty members. The area grew rapidly in the next decade, and by 1932 another room was added to the schoolhouse. A new two-room frame building was added in 1934, and an additional one-room building was erected in 1936. Matching bonds, Works Progress Administration projects, and other federal programs enabled the district to expand as necessary, including the erection of a large main building in 1938. Air Force personnel, aircraft mechanics, and their children arrived at nearby Carswell Air Force Base during World War II, and the school district expanded to accommodate them. In the 1950s local high school students were transferred to the Fort Worth Independent School District. When Fort Worth announced in 1956 its intent to charge tuition for the education of Castleberry students, the Castleberry School District became independent and added a high school to its facilities. By 1998 the Castleberry Independent School District served almost 3000 students in seven schools. (1998) Incise: Character builder, Irma Marsh, teacher-principal; first superintendent of C.I.S.D., 1924-1972.

 

Chapin School

Located on Spur 580 (or US 80, Bankhead Hwy), about 1 mi west of IH 820, Fort Worth.

The Chapin School was begun for Marys Creek Community in the late 1870s in a log cabin on land deeded by Ivory H. Chapin (2 mi. SE). In 1884 the school was moved one mile west to a 2-room frame house on Mary's Creek on land donated by J. Fielding Dunlap (.5 Mi. S). It was moved again in 1936, to a rock structure on Chapin Road. In 1961, the Fort Worth Independent School District annexed the Chapin Common School District. Chapin School continued to be used for an elementary school, however, until 1968, when it closed.



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