Welcome to the Surrounding Cities Forum

Greetings All,

I approached John this week about the possibility of a separate section set aside for issues specific to the cities surrounding Fort Worth.

There have been threads that deal with different parts of the county, most recently the northeast, but have been plenty of references to issues in Arlington, the rural southwest, the growing north and northwest, and of course the mid-cities of the northeast. I live in Haltom City, and we certainly have our own issues here. I still consider myself as living in the greater Fort Worth area, as do probably most on this list.

John wasted no time in responding, acknowledging that there may indeed be a need for a place to discuss items of a more regional nature, but I didn't expect him to ask me to "put my money where my mouth is", that is, to be the moderator of the section. Well, I will give it a try.

So welcome to the "Surrounding Cities Section" of the Ft. Worth Forum. Feel free to post items of interest to residents of greater Tarrant County as well as "true Panther City denizens". I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Birdville was the first settlement in the county, and that some of the surrounding cities have interesting histories all their own; Arlington of course, and towns like Grapevine, Bedford, and Keller, as well as former municipalities such as Niles City, Johnson's Station, and Handley. Welcome all, and post away!

I think it is a excellent idea.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Birdville was the first settlement in the county, and that some of the surrounding cities have interesting histories all their own; Arlington of course, and towns like Grapevine, Bedford, and Keller, as well as former municipalities such as Niles City, Johnson's Station, and Handley.


Hmmmm. Maybe someone can answer something I was wondering about the other day. There is a street that intersects Hwy 121 called Handley-Ederville Road. Usually streets with such a naming format usually indicate that the road runs between two towns or communities. Handley, of course, was a town the business section of which survives though it has been swallowed up by Fort Worth. It would follow that Ederville was also a town - and a google search turns up the following reference that indicates that it indeed was: http://www.placesnam...d/ederville.asp Unfortunately, all that is provided are the geographic coordinates 32°45'26"N97°12'38"W which might as well be Latin to me. Does anyone know where Ederville was located and if there are any surviving remnants?

Another question: Johnson's Station was mentioned above as being a "former municipality." Was it ever actually incoroporated as a municipality? Or by "municipality" did you mean "town" regardless as to whether or not it was ever formally incorporated?

You are absolutely right, Prairie Pup, Fort Worth's surrounding cities often have a very significant impact upon Fort Worth and its citizens, and they should also be recognized as Greater Fort Worth. This is a great idea, and I'm all for it. I'm glad to know you're willing to help John keep tabs on this area of the forum.

Tangent time!

There is a fair amount of history regarding Bedford, it was actually settled in the late 1800's, unlike most of the cities around here. Just a tidbit.

While we're discussing now defunct municipalities, let's not forget Smithfield. I always make fun of my father for referring to places by long since forgotten names, until recently I mentioned Cotton Belt Barbecue in "Smithfield" and folks looked at me funny. I'm young, yet I still feel old

Dismuke, I have frequently asked the same question of amateur "historians" around here regarding Handley Ederville Road, and I have yet to find out anything too interesting or informative. I'll see if I can't root up some of my old info and pass it on.

I could be wrong on this, but I believe that what was Ederville lies beneath the E. 820/I-30 interchange. I think the only structure that survives is one house that has been modified and is currently occupied by a rental-car business -- Enterprise I think -- you can see it from the highway. It's interesting to note that Handley Ederville Rd. is north of both communities -- not between the two. The old Ederville Rd. (not to be confused with Handley Ederville Rd.) ran along Brentwood Stair/I-30. Ederville Rd. South remains a diagonal connector between that previous road and Oakland Blvd just north of Meadowbrook Dr.


Joel Burns
joel "at" joelburns.com

Joel is right!

I plugged the coordinates Dismuke found into the MapQuest Lat/long generator and up popped a place up in the mountains between two villages in China, oops, latitude W has to be prefaced with a negative (-) sign, wallah! Up popped a map of the north Meadowbrook area with a star right next to Ederville Park, just southeast of the 820/I30 interchange. I forgot to mention Webb as another former community, and without looking, I think "community" rather than municipality best describes Johnson Station, but Smithfield was a real town.

Does anyone know what the meaning of Brentwood Stair is? Seems kind of strange name for a road.

Bill Sievers

Thanks everyone, for posting so quickly on this. It looks like this section is going to be successful.

Pup, after encountering a few problems, you now have moderator status on this section.

Back on topic: I do remember Smithfield, and it hasn't been that long ago that Webb had a feeling of being a place out in the country. Many times when we were riding bicycles in the Joe Pool Lake area, we would pass through Webb on our way back from Mansfield. Of course, Arlington now has expanded all around it.

Another location that still has a sense of place (but it won't for long) is Britton. Britton sits southeast of Mansfield near the junction of the Tarrant, Johnson, and Ellis County lines. There is the remains of the old bank in the town. The remainder of the buildings are old houses that are still occupied.

I believe there is a church in Britton that is still active. At least it was about 10 years ago when I went to a funeral there.

Cottonbelt BBQ in Smithfield is great. It would be really nice to see that immediate shift from industrial to retail/restaurants.

BB, I believe that you are correct in that the church in Britton is still active. The little store where we used to stop for snacks and sports drinks is closed.

Thanks for the info on Ederville. I will definitely check out the car rental house next time I am in the area. I wonder if there might be a cemetery in the area. Very often (and perhaps appropriately) the cemetery becomes the last surviving remnant of an old community - which is the case in both Birdville and Johnson's Station.

Speaking of Johnson's Station - does anyone know of the exact location of Marrow Bone Springs and whether they still exist? My understanding is that they were near Johnson's Station and that the springs once served as the site of an old Indian trading post.

Interestingly enough, the birthplace of the Metroplex was in what is now Tarrant and not Dallas County at Bird's Fort which was located east of FM 157 between Arlington and Euless. The site of the fort was in the river bottoms near a small natural lake which appears on some maps as Calloway Lake. I understand the site has managed to survive remarkably untouched though there were some buildings as well as a swimming pool located on the site of the fort's original stockade which were built in the 1890s as part of a hunting club. There are, of course, no visible remnants of the fort - but if an archeological dig could ever be conducted on the site, undoubtedly some interesting artifacts would be uncovered.

http://www.marlinstu...io/birdfort.htm

Here's a web site I ran across at one time about Bird's Fort.

Speaking of Johnson's Station - does anyone know of the exact location of Marrow Bone Springs and whether they still exist? My understanding is that they were near Johnson's Station and that the springs once served as the site of an old Indian trading post.
The springs were in what is now Arlington's Founders Park, which runs from 600 W. Arkansas Lane south to Vandergriff Park just east of Matlock Road. There is a Texas Historical Marker which reads something like:

"An Indian habitat in the 1700s or earlier, Marrow Bone Spring in 1843 was visited by President Sam Houston's envoys seeking peace. A trading post licensed by the Texas Republic opened in 1845 near the Spring. Hiram Blackwell of the Peters Colony pioneered here before 1848. Soldier-statesman Middleton Tate Johnson (1810-1866) posted troops nearby in the late 1840s. The first Post Office in Tarrant County opened on Oct. 31, 1851, at Johnson's Station. In 1852 Blackwell sold Johnson his rights to land surrounding the spring. The Village of Johnson's Station flourished for many years. (1979)"


Some sources for information on historical place names in the area are the Handbook of Texas Online:

www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/

and the Tarrant County portion of the TXGenWeb site:

www.rootsweb.com/~txtarran/

(although it sometimes seems inaccessible). From the main page it's not obvious where to go, but the contents are here.

Oh, and you can also search the Texas Historical Sites Atlas for state markers. That's where I got the text from the marker above. Not like I could remember all of it. I barely remember seeing it, although it's only been about a year or so.