9 replies to this topic

[isshin68]

I have been looking for the site of the original Cold Springs...where Major Arnold spent his first night in the area...My late Mother b 1916 told me of going with her Father b 1884 on a horse drawn wagon ride all day from the farm in present Southlake to sell produce at the North Side stockyards area...and watering the horses at the Cold Spring for the return trip...I think it needs to be found an an historical marker placed....
Also, grew up on the Northside...and spent many a Saturday at the Isis theater...would be so nice to see it up and running again..not just me but many people would.
Thank you,
Thorne Williams

[djold1]

Over the past years I have done considerable work on Cold Springs. The problem with finding the site is that IMHO it geographically does not exist any more, at least on the surface.


The channelization of the Trinity in the 1950's after the great flood of 1949, essentially changed the entire river from well above the confluence of the Clear and West Forks then east to just past Beach Street. The old maps & aerials show this entire area to have been a winding, snag filled, narrow channel with many ox-bow curves.The confluence of the two rivers which we cherish today looks nothing like the original.

The area you are talking about from The Samuel s Avenue bridge on down through Riverside is a smooth curve today where in the past it probably was twice as long and very twisty in the flood plain. If the spring exists today considering the considerable lowering of the water table over the years, it is probably buried 10 to 20 feet deep along the original bed of the river. This area is also being torn apart again for flood control use as part of the Trinity River Vision.

You mother's description while not exact, is as good as many of the other historical references and should be taken seriously as part of the lore of Cold Springs.

[AndyN]

Previous Cold Spring Discussion

I think part of the problem is that Arnold camped near "a cold spring" instead of "The Cold Spring". There has been much discussion in the past on the post linked above.

[djold1]

On a hot day, almost every flowing spring or seep was a "Cold Spring". There may have been as many as a dozen in Tarrant County alone.

For my purposes I define "Cold Springs" as a location somewhere very roughly between the old Mitchell (later Samuel s Avenue) bridge east along the Trinity to where the Brickyard Crossing or old 1st Street bridge once stood. Until the early 1950's there was a "Cold Springs Bridge" across the Trinity that connected the extension of south Cold Springs Road to the north section across the river. An earlier name was prob ably the 'Daggett Bridge" which was supposedly a toll operation This was upstream a little of the MKT railroad bridge which still stands today. Cold Springs road connects to Watauga Road which gave easy access to the Keller Pike (Now Kimbo Road) and the north east sections of the county.

This may or may not be the Cold Springs that the cavalry used as they arrived in Fort Worth but in this area I have described was definitely a place that had good cold water (which means it wasn't the rather poor river water), had some natural beauty including great trees, had room enough for large gatherings and was close enough to the city for easy access..

[John S.]

There has been an on-going discussion about the location of the "Cold Springs" since 2004: http://www.fortworth...p?showtopic=227 under the Forum topic of local history. From talking about this topic with a number of other local history buffs, the only conclusion that can be reached is that there were a number of cold springs locally and that term was used generically. An old spring that was once called Terry Spring borders Traders Oak Park; it was near the location of Nathaniel Terry's home (and the historic Traders Oak tree) which once stood near the northeast end of Samuels Avenue. Now badly slited over and very overgrown, in the winter one can still discern a bowl shaped depression and isolated pools of standing water. An old newspaper article mentions it being used as a neighborhood trash dumpsite. But this is not THE Cold Springs of lore. In the 1940's, a group of junior historians from Arlington Heights (which included writer/historian Julia Kathryn Garrett)sought to identify what they believed was the original Cold Springs site. (see previous discussion thread for link to article) That area has apparently been obliterated over the years from the various Trinity River channelization projects as has been noted. Therefore, the exact location of the Cold Springs used by Major Ripley Arnold and other Fort Worth pioneers may never be determined due to the changes in the terrain since those long-ago days.

[Bill Sievers]

...That area has apparently been obliterated over the years from the various Trinity River channelization projects as has been noted. Therefore, the exact location of the Cold Springs used by Major Ripley Arnold and other Fort Worth pioneers may never be determined due to the changes in the terrain since those long-ago days.

John, I suspect that with the new upcoming Trinity River Project, that the site of these old springs will be completely obliterated. Isn't the area where these springs were located right in the "bullseye" of the project?

Bill

[AndyN]

Some of the downstream storage, maybe. But what I know of the project, it is largely upstream of the triple railroad bridges - whereas the springs are downstream.

[Bill Sievers]

Some of the downstream storage, maybe. But what I know of the project, it is largely upstream of the triple railroad bridges - whereas the springs are downstream.

Ok Andy. I haven't yet tried to compare where the TRV project is in relation to where the springs were/are located. Hopefully the "springs" area won't be so greatly disturbed that further investigation will still be possible.

Thanks for the info.

Bill

[djold1]

While there is no way to know for sure, I personally feel that the site of the particular Cold Springs we are talking about was obliterated in the channel re-work of the early 1950's. This is based on written descriptions, historic maps, local lore and other material including that mentioned above and in the older thread.

[Stadtplan]

On a hot day, almost every flowing spring or seep was a "Cold Spring". There may have been as many as a dozen in Tarrant County alone.

For my purposes I define "Cold Springs" as a location somewhere very roughly between the old Mitchell (later Samuel s Avenue) bridge east along the Trinity to where the Brickyard Crossing or old 1st Street bridge once stood. Until the early 1950's there was a "Cold Springs Bridge" across the Trinity that connected the extension of south Cold Springs Road to the north section across the river. An earlier name was prob ably the 'Daggett Bridge" which was supposedly a toll operation This was upstream a little of the MKT railroad bridge which still stands today. Cold Springs road connects to Watauga Road which gave easy access to the Keller Pike (Now Kimbo Road) and the north east sections of the county.

This may or may not be the Cold Springs that the cavalry used as they arrived in Fort Worth but in this area I have described was definitely a place that had good cold water (which means it wasn't the rather poor river water), had some natural beauty including great trees, had room enough for large gatherings and was close enough to the city for easy access..

 

https://www.tdlr.tex.../TABS2022004755

 

PROJECT

Project Name: Kimbo Rd Reconstruction

Project Number: TABS2022004755

Facility Name: Kimbo Rd.

Location Address: Kimbo Rd, McComas & Alta View Street

Fort Worth, TX 76111

Location County: Tarrant

Start Date: 3/1/2020

Completion Date: 11/30/2021

Estimated Cost: $1,000,000

Type of Work: Renovation/Alteration

Type of Funds: This project involves public funds, public land, or is a Federally funded roadway project.

Scope of Work: Roadway improvements: Paving, drainage, sewer & pedestrian elements

Square Footage: 100 ft 2

Are the private funds provided by the tenant? No

Current Status: Review Complete

 

 

OWNER

Owner Name: City of Fort Worth

Owner Address: 200 Texas Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Owner Phone: (817) 393-2333

Contact Name: Gregory Robbins

 

TENANT

Not Assigned

 

DESIGN FIRM

Design Firm Name: Baird Hampton Brown

Design Firm Address: 3801 William D Tate

Grapevine, Texas 76051

Design Firm Phone: (817) 251-8550