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Florence School
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Located at Harwood and Precinct Line Roads, Hurst.
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In the 1890, the forerunner of Florence School in the
Tarrant County Common School District No. 34 was
called "Green Glade". In 1903 Thomas Richard Sandidge,
a school trustee, and his wife Nannie provided one
acre at this site for school purposes. The nearby
Green Glade site was sold, and the Florence
Schoolhouse, a one-room frame building, was erected
here among a grove of post oak trees. The new
institution provided grades one through eight and had
an average enrollment of 30. The term ran from
October, after cotton harvest, to may, the beginning
of cotton chopping time. The building served as a
community center where singings were held. By 1914,
with declining enrollment and the need for high school
curriculum, the district was abolished and Florence
School students attended Bedford, Pleasant Run, and
Smithfield Schools. Sandidge reclaimed the land which
had been set aside for school purposes, and the
property was sold several times through the years. In
1966 the Tarrant County Junior College District bought
the land as part of its Northeast Campus which opened
in September 1968. Among the enrollment were
descendants of students who attended the old Florence
School. (1979)
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I. M. Terrell High School
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Located at 1411 E. 18th Street, Fort Worth.
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In 1882, the Fort Worth school system opened its first
free public school for black students, called "East
Ninth Street Colored School." It was moved to the
corner of East Twelfth Street and Steadman in a
property trade with the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad
in 1906, and renamed "North Side Colored School No.
11." Isaiah Milligan Terrell was named principal and
served until 1915. A 1909 bond election provided funds
for a new building, which opened in May 1910. In honor
of its former principal, the school was named "I.M.
Terrell High School" in 1921. The school at twelfth
and Steadman became a Junior High and Elementary in
1938, when Terrell High School was moved to its
present location at 1411 E. 18th Street, site of a
former white elementary school. Isaiah Milligan
Terrell was born in Grimes County in 1859. Named one
of the first four black teachers in Fort Worth in
1882, he served as principal and supervisor of black
schools. He was married in 1883 to Marcelite Landry, a
respected music teacher. Terrell became President of
Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now
Prairie View A&M University) in 1915, and later
became an active leader in Houston's black community.
He died in 1931.
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James E. Guinn School
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Located at 1100 Louisiana St., Fort Worth.
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After Fort Worth Public Schools were organized in the
fall of 1882, black students continued to be taught in
black churches for more than a year. The city
completed a schoolhouse for blacks on E. 9th Street at
Elm in December 1883. The son of a former slave, James
Elvis Guinn was born in Fort Worth. Though neither of
them could read nor write, his parents placed a great
value on education, and James attended Fort Worth's
early schools for blacks. He later pursued a college
degree and became a professor of chemistry at Prairie
View College, now Prairie View A&M University.
Guinn returned to Fort Worth as Principal of South
Side Colored School in 1900. Construction of a new
three-story brick school building, designed by the
prominent architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats,
began at the corner of Louisiana and Rosedale Avenues
in April 1917. Shortly before its completion, Guinn
died on July 11, 1917. Six days later the School Board
voted to name the new school buildings James E. Guinn
School in his honor. It was the largest black school
in Fort Worth in 1930. After sixty-three years of
service it, it was closed in 1980. Texas
Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.
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Masonic Home and School of Texas
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Located at 3600 Wichita Street, Fort Worth.
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The Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Texas, organized in
1837 in the Republic of Texas, was granted a charter
by the new State of Texas on April 28, 1846. Among the
stated purposes of the organization was support of
education and charitable causes. At its 1885 annual
meeting, the Grand Lodge appointed a committee to plan
a "Masonic Widows and Orphans Home." Calling for bids
from Texas lodges the following year, the Grand Lodge
accepted the offer of Fort Worth Lodge No. 148 in 1888
for 200 acres of land and $5,000 toward building
costs. Construction of the institution's buildings at
this site began in 1898. A special Texas & Pacific
Railroad excursion train brought Masons and visitors
to a cornerstone leveling ceremony on June 7, 1899,
and the first building was completed later that year.
Dr. Frank Rainey of Austin was named superintendent.
Known as the "Masonic Home and School of Texas," the
facility included buildings designed by noted
architects Wiley G. Clarkson of Fort Worth and Herbert
M. Greene of Dallas. The Masonic Home Independent
School District was formed by the State Board of
Education in 1913, and by 1930 more than 450 students
were being cared for and educated here. Under terms of
an agreement reached in 1911, Masonic widows were
transferred to the new home for aged Masons in
Arlington. Over the years the mission of the home to
care for children of Texas Masons was expanded to
offer educational opportunities to additional
relatives of Masons, as well as to other children
sponsored by Texas lodges. The school continues a
legacy of excellence in education. The campus was
listed in the National Register of Historic Places as
a historic district in 1992. (1999)
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Mosier Valley School
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Located on the south side of Mosier Valley, near
Knapp/Mosier intersection, near Euless.
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In 1870, former slaves Robert and Dilsie Johnson
received a 40-acre tract of land here as a wedding
gift from plantation owner Lucy Lee. Soon other
freedmen settled in Mosier Valley, and in 1883 a
community school was organized. A schoolhouse, built
at this site about 1924, served as a focal point for
the surrounding area. It was replaced by a brick
structure in 1953. Mosier Valley students were
integrated in 1969. Today the site serves as a
reminder of the area's earliest citizens and as a
symbol of the community's rich heritage. (1983)
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North Side School
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Located at Johnson Plantation Cemetery, 621 W.
Arkansas Lane, Arlington.
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After Arlington's North Side School at 433 North
Center burned in 1909, this board and batten structure
was built on the school grounds. Two grades met here
for one term until a new brick building was erected.
Contractor Joseph Crawley, who built this structure
bought it and moved it to 304 South Pecan. It served
as his office until 1924 when it became a storage
shed. In 1977 Arlington's oldest existing schoolhouse
was relocated here.
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Pioneer Birdville Schools
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Located at 3120 Carson St., Haltom City.
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The community of Birdville, named for pioneer Jonathan
Bird, became the first seat of Tarrant County in 1851.
It continued to hold that position until 1856, when an
election changed the county seat to Fort Worth.
Located within the community, on this site known as
Birdville Hill, was a school operated by Professor
William E. Hudson. Named Birdville Academy, the school
opened in 1858 and attracted students from Tarrant,
Dallas, Parker, and Denton Counties. The school grew
quickly from a one-room wooden building to larger
facilities serving an increasing student population.
By 1919 the need for additional room resulted in a
bond election which authorized the erection of a new
brick building adjacent to the original school site.
In 1926 the Birdville Independent School District was
incorporated, and additional school facilities were
added to the property in later years. In 1961
Birdville High School was renamed Haltom High after a
second high school, Richland High, was opened. Still
occupying the original Birdville School site, the
school district now includes facilities throughout
Haltom City and retains the Birdville name.
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Pleasant Run School
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Located at 5505 Pleasant Run Road, Colleyville.
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Early settlers have recalled that a log school stood
near this site as early as 1870. By 1877, 45 students
were enrolled. In 1884, A.J. Colwell deeded two acres
here to the Pleasant Run School Trustees for a public
school and church. In 1897 a wooden school-house stood
here and one teacher, Emma Dixon, was teaching 93
students during a 120-day term. A 2-story brick
building was completed c. 1913, replaced by a Works
Progress Administration structure in 1939. About 233
students were enrolled in 1960. Classes were last held
here in 1962, soon after consolidation with Grapevine.
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Saint Ignatius Academy Building
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Located at 1206 Throckmorton, Fort Worth.
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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
structure, used for classrooms and chapel, was
completed in 1889. J.J. Kane designed the building, a
good example of the Victorian Institutional style.
School classes were conducted here until 1962.
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Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary
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Located at the southwest corner of James and W.
Seminary, Fort Worth.
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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. Control passed from Baptist General
Convention of Texas to Southern Baptist Convention in
1925. First president (1908-14) was B.H. Carroll.
Successors: L.R. Scarborough, 1914-42; E.D. Head,
1942-53; J. Howard Williams, 1953-58; Robert E.
Naylor, 1958-.
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Spring Garden School
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Located at 2400 Cummings Road, Bedford.
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The concern of area settlers to provide a school for
their children resulted in the opening of the Spring
Garden School in the fall of 1865. Samuel Witten,
Levin Moody, Milton Moore, and Caleb Smith joined
forces to build a schoolhouse on land (1/2 mi. N)
donated by Witten. Named Spring Garden after Witten's
home in Missouri, the School was noted for its
excellent teachers. The growth of Bedford and an 1872
fire that destroyed the schoolhouse contributed to the
closing of Spring Garden School about 1878. Its
history is a reminder of the importance of Texas'
pioneer schools.
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First Hundred Years of Texas Christian
University
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Located inside the foyer of M.E. Sadler Hall, 2800 S.
University, Fort Worth.
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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 1839. A teacher, preacher, lawyer, surveyor, editor
and publisher, he also was Fort Worth Postmaster in
noisy cattle-trail and early railroad era. His sons,
home from the Civil War, established a school in this
city in 1869, on site which proved unsuitable. The
family moved the school to Thorp Springs (33 MI. SW),
where they founded Add-Ran Male and Female College in
1873. Church-related from its origin, the college was
given in 1889 to the Christian Church Convention of
Texas, and renamed Addran Christian University. Moved
to Waco on Christmas Day, 1895, the school was renamed
Texas Christian University (1902), and stayed there
until the main building was destroyed by fire in 1910.
When Fort Worth offered 52 acres of land for a campus
and funds of $200,000 for building, Texas Christian
University returned (1910) to the city first chosen as
its location. By 1973, TCU had grown to 243 acres, 60
buildings, seven schools and colleges, and an average
fall enrollment of 6500 students. Erected during
Centennial Observance - 1973.
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The University of Texas at Arlington
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Located in front of UTA Central Library, 702 College
St., Arlington.
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Tracing its history to a series of private schools and
military academies, The University of Texas at
Arlington has grown with the community to become one
of the area's most important public institutions.
Arlington College, a private school for students in
grade 1-10, opened here in 1895 in a two-story frame
building. It was succeeded in 1902 by Carlisle
Military Academy, operated by former State
Superintendent of Public Instruction James M.
Carlisle. Financial difficulties forced the Academy
into receivership, and in 1913 H.K. Taylor opened
Arlington Training School in its place. It in turn was
replaced in 1916 by Arlington Military Academy, which
closed after only one year. The school became a
state-supported institution in 1917. Known as Grubbs
Vocational College for local supporter Vincent W.
Grubbs, it was affiliated with Texas A&M (then
called The Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Texas) through two more name changes--North Texas
Agricultural College (1923-49) and Arlington State
College (1949-65). Transferred to the University of
Texas System in 1965, it was renamed the University of
Texas at Arlington in 1967 and has become the second
largest University in the System, offering
undergraduate and graduate degrees. Sesquicentennial
of Texas Statehood 1845-1995
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Second Site of the Old Wayside School
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Located on FM 1220 just south of W.J. Boaz Road, about
15 miles from downtown Fort Worth.
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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, named in honor of donor of first site.
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Masonic Temple Association of Fort
Worth
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Located at 1100 Henderson, Fort Worth.
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The Masonic Temple Association was founded as the
result of dramatic growth in Fort Worth's Masonic
membership during the early part of the twentieth
century. It was chartered in 1929 with ten member
bodies for the purpose of building and maintaining a
central meeting place for those organizations. Funds
were raised and the new temple was completed in 1932.
Since its founding, The Masonic Temple Association of
Fort Worth has helped to create a common bond among
its members. (1984)
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Royal Flying Corps
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Located in Greenwood Cemetery, 3400 White Settlement,
Fort Worth.
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In 1917, during World War I, the U.S., British, and
Canadian Governments entered into a reciprocal
agreement to train military pilots for combat duty.
Foreign troops trained in Texas during the winter and
in Canada in the summer. Camp Taliaferro in Tarrant
County, consisting of three air fields, provided
training facilities for members of the Royal Flying
Corp and U.S. forces from October 1917 to November
1918. Each field accommodated an average of 2,000 men.
Royal Flying Corps expertise and skilled instructors
enabled large numbers of Americans to receive
excellent flight training in a short time. During the
months British and Canadian troops were stationed in
Fort Worth, 39 officers and cadets were killed during
flight training. Eleven of the men were buried at the
three Air Fields; in 1924 the Imperial War Graves
Commission purchased a plot at Greenwood Cemetery for
reinterment. A monument was later erected at the site,
which now has twelve graves since a veteran who died
in 1975 requested burial here with his friends. The
Royal Flying Corps, although in Texas for only a short
time, had a beneficial and lasting influence on
aviation in this country.
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Smithfield Masonic Lodge No. 455 A.F.
& A.M.
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Located at 8007 Main St., North Richland Hills.
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The organizational meeting for this lodge was held on
July 13, 1875. Originally known as the Grand Prairie
Lodge, the fraternal organization held its meetings in
the Zion Church until the first Lodge Building was
constructed in 1876. In 1894 the structure was moved
to the lot adjacent this site and was in use until
1981. The Lodge's membership has included some of the
prominent early settlers of Tarrant County, including
Eli Smith, for whom the Community of Smithfield (now
part of North Richland Hills) was named. The title
Smithfield Masonic Lodge was adopted in 1947.
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Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers
Association
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Located at 1301 W. Seventh Street, Fort Worth.
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On February 15, 1877, a large number of stock raisers
from northwest Texas assembled in the Young County
Courthouse in Graham to address the problem of cattle
rustling. Their solution was the creation of the
"Stock-Raisers' Association of North-West Texas." The
organization worked to promote the interests of stock
raisers and initiated a system of tracking stray or
stolen cattle. Names, marks, brands, locations of
ranches, and addresses of individual stock raisers
were made available to each member. C.L. (Kit) Carter
of Palo Pinto County served as the association's first
president. Other prominent cattlemen involved in the
group's formative years were C.C. Slaughter, Samuel
Burk Burnett, and James C. Loving. During the 1893
Annual Convention, membership in the organization was
opened to the entire state, and its name was changed
to the "Cattle Raisers Association of Texas." In the
same year, Fort Worth became the location of its
permanent headquarters. The current name was adopted
in 1921, when the Panhandle and Southwestern
Stockmen's Association joined the Texas organization.
Throughout its history, the association has provided
significant service and leadership to the cattle
industry of Texas.
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Woman's Club of Fort Worth
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Located on an interior garden wall, 1316 Pennsylvania
Ave., Fort Worth.
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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. The charter members first met in a house
donated by Etta O. (Mrs. William G.) Newby. As the
club grew, it acquired other buildings. The
organization performs many civic, charitable, and
educational activities and maintains a Texana library
collection. Membership in 1975 totaled about 3000.
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Allen Chapel African Methodist
Episcopal Church
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Located at 116 Elm Street, Fort Worth.
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The oldest and largest African Methodist Episcopal
Church in Fort Worth. This church organization was
organized about 1870 by the Rev. Moody, pioneer
circuit rider, and five area settlers. Members met in
homes until facilities were built at this site soon
after it was purchased in 1878. The name Allen was
adopted as part of the congregational title in 1879 to
honor Richard Allen, a former slave who became the
first Bishop of the A.M.E. faith. Led by 29 pastors in
over a century of service, Allen Chapel has played a
significant role in Fort Worth's development. (1982)
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