USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume II > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
The progress of the county is indicated in its population statistics. In 1860, 592 inhabitants were enumerated. By 1870 the population was only 135. During the succeeding ten years came the influx of permanent settlers, and by 1880 the population was 4,726; in 1890. 5,049; in 1900, 6,540; in 1910, after the first railroad had penetrated the county, 13,657 ; in 1920, 13,113.
The closing phases in the career of old Fort Belknap are sug- gested in a brief newspaper item published in the spring of 1878: "Belknap, which once had fifteen business houses and a military post, now has three mercantile firms. The shattered walls of the old mili- tary buildings are monuments of its former activities." In the mean- time, another pioneer era had been inaugurated. Edwin S. Graham, a Kentuckian, came to Young County and in 1871 bought the old salt
868
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
works on Salt Creek, where the manufacture of salt had been con- ducted in a crude way for several years. Mr. Graham and his brother, G. A. Graham, installed improved machinery, brought the plant to a capacity of about 2,500 pounds of salt per day, and the product was marketed in sacks and hauled east and south by freighting trains. After the salt business proved unprofitable Mr. Graham invested heavily in Young County lands, and in 1872 laid out the town of Graham, about ten miles east of old Belknap. Due largely to the enterprise of its founder, the town grew, and when the county was re- organized it was selected as the county seat. A traveler through Graham in the spring of 1876 speaks of the pasture lands all along his route from Jacksboro as being dotted with cattle and here and there deer, antelope and turkeys, indicating how far the country was from being closely settled. In February, 1877, a writer says, the buildings in town number over 100, while a year before there were only seven, and the industries were represented by a sawmill, flouring mill, cotton gin, salt works, etc. Graham was more fortunate than most frontier towns in respect to communication with the outside world, for, though no railroads reached there for many years, the mili- tary telegraph gave the citizens daily reports of current events and was a convenience much appreciated by the townspeople. Scarcity of lumber interfered with building in Graham and all other West Texas towns. The first stage in the history of these towns might be referred to as the "Picket-house" stage. Rough shelters were built from up- right pickets, plastered over with clay or mud, seldom boasting of any- thing better than a dirt floor. Then came brick and stone buildings, the abundance of stone making that material cheaper than lumber, which had to be transported from the Eastern Texas markets and which sold for almost fabulous prices. Thus the lumber for the school- houses in Graham was brought in by ox teams and wagons from Fort Worth.
Thirty years ago it was estimated that less than three per cent of the total area of the county was under cultivation. Young County was then and for a number of years afterwards one of the chief centers of the Texas cattle industry, and it was at Graham in February, 1877, that the Cattle Raisers' Association of Texas was organized. A report on the county in 1882 mentioned the towns as Belknap, Graham, Farmer and Eliasville.
In founding his town on Salt Creek in 1872 Mr. Graham was led by the hope that the Texas & Pacific would be built through Young County. That line eventually passed about forty miles to the south, and Young County remained without a railroad until 1902, when the Rock Island was extended west from Jacksboro to Graham. By 1907 the Wichita Falls & Southern was completed from Wichita Falls south as far as Olney, and has since been extended to a terminus at Newcastle, in this county. About three or four years ago, the Gulf, Texas & Western was built through the county from Seymour to Jacksboro.
As a result of the building of railroads, the economic activities of the county have been largely changed during the last decade. As already men- tioned, population more than doubled, and most of the large ranches have
869
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
been broken up and farming is now an important industry. A consider- able quantity of land along the many streams in the county is irrigated. The county also has mineral resources. Seventeen miles southwest of Graham on Fish Creek is found the thickest vein of coal in the entire state. The slate deposits about Graham are no longer worked. The county also has several gas wells.
The last census report furnishes some statistics on the general agricul- tural development and conditions in the county during the last decade. Of the total area of 560,000 acres, 458,754 acres were reported as in farms or ranches, and of this, about 132,000 acres were improved land. The amount of improved land in 1900 was 65,000 acres, about half the amount found ten years later. There were 1,796 farms enumerated in 1910, as com- pared with 899 in 1900. Live stock statistics: Cattle, 21,892 ; horses and mules, 7,877 ; hogs, 7,350. The crops in 1909 were : Cotton, 50,776 acres ; corn, 17,493 acres ; hay and forage crops, 6,426 acres ; wheat, 4,082 acres ; oats, 1,374 acres ; kaffir corn and milo maize, 1,297 acres. About 39,000 orchard fruit trees were enumerated and about 9,000 pecan trees.
As a result of railroads, several new towns have sprung up. Graham, the old county seat, is still the metropolis, and its population in 1890 was 667 ; in 1900, 878; in 1910, 1,569; in 1920, 2,560. The second town is Olney, which was first the terminus of the Wichita Falls & Southern, now a part of the M. K. & T., and is now the junction point of that road and the Gulf, Texas & Western. Its population in 1910 was 1,095. Other towns are Orth. Jean, Loving, Newcastle and Dakin. In 1870 Young County's taxable values amounted to only $42,251 ; in 1882, $1,498,880 ; il 1903, $2,989,605 ; in 1913, $8.179,578; in 1920, $8,791,370.
GRAHAM
The town of Graham was founded about 1874 by Mr. E. S. Graham, who was largely interested in the Peters colony, which did much for the advertisement of the section of country lying northwest of Fort Worth. It has a population of 2,560, according to the census, but has been granted a special charter as a city of 3,000, which is a result of the recent oil de- velopment in that city. Its assessed valuation for 1920 is $2,364,649.
There are six churches, two national banks, one state bank, the total deposits of which are around $1.500,000. It owns the water works and sanitary sewers, has electric lights and the usual business enterprises in- cident to a city of its size. The Graham Mill & Elevator Company is a model plant and one of the largest in the state. An adequate supply of natural gas has been discovered about ten miles from the city, and within the next few. months will be piped to the city.
Construction of a railway from Newcastle through Graham to Breck- enridge is in progress and will soon be open for business.
REMINISCENCES
This chapter may not be of much interest to the general reader. It may not be entitled to the dignity of history, and still it is history, because correct history is nothing but an authentic record of efforts and achieve- ments of individuals and communities, whether these be serious or trivial.
If the general reader concludes that this chapter will be of no interest to him or her, it may be skipped. There are hundreds and thousands of people in Fort Worth, and in the territory adjacent to Fort Worth, who were once residents of the city to whom it will be of interest and who will peruse these pages with avidity and pleasure. It will serve to recall to the early settlers incidents which interested and entertained them at the time of their occurrence and which may have escaped their memories altogether. It is for these that this section of the work is intended. It is the earnest desire of the author to avoid anything that may wound the sensibilties of any who may be mentioned, or of any of their descendants. It is written without prejudice or malice.
TEXAS SPRING PALACE
This unique and attractive place of amusement came at a date within the memory of thousands now living, but it was such an unusual and beautiful edifice that a few lines in regard to it may not be inappropriate.
It was erected in the winter and spring of 1888-89, and was located on the Texas & Pacific reservation, north of and opposite the intersection of Railroad and Galveston Avenues.
At that time Toronto, Canada, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, were having Ice Palaces, and Sioux City, Iowa, its Corn Palace. Gen. R. A. Cameron. who was the Colonization and Immigration Agent of the Fort Worth & Denver, conceived the idea of having such an exhibition of the products of the field, forest, orchard and garden at Fort Worth and having it in the spring, when there were no other places of entertainment and amusement anywhere in the country.
A company was soon organized with a capital of $50,000, of which $38,000 was subscribed when the company commenced business. B. B. Paddock was made president, W. A. Huffman, treasurer, and Willis H. Post, secretary. W. F. Sommerville was made director general and General Cameron his assistant.
The contract for the building, which was in the shape of a Saint An- drew's cross and was 225x375 feet in dimensions, was let to Thos. J. Hurley and his associates, who were then in the business of constructing buildings. E. D. Allen, of Chicago, was employed to superintend the decorations. There was not an inch of timber in the structure, except the floors, but that was covered with some product of Texas, wrought in the most artistic manner into pictures. It was easily the most beautiful struc- ture ever erected on earth. It was opened May 10, 1889, with impressive ceremonies, and everybody in town was present. Governor Thurston, of Nebraska, made the opening address, and the music was furnished by the band of the Elgin Watch Factory, of Elgin, Illinois. The National Band of Mexico and other bands from different sections of the country were in attendance during the season.
870
871
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
No expense or pains were spared in advertising the Palace in all parts of the country. Special committees, traveling in "special cars," were sent to Washington and to the City of Mexico to present invitations to Presidents Harrison and Diaz of the two Republics to attend the Spring Palace. These invitations were the limit of the engraver's art and were handsomely bound in silver. This is but a sample of the extravagant management that attended the work from start to finish. The result was that, notwithstanding the generous patronage of the home people and the public, when the gates were closed on the 10th day of June there was a deficit of over $23,000. It took President Paddock and the directors about an hour to raise the money and pay off the bills of the company.
In January, 1900, the directors for the second year opened subscrip- tion lists for the money for the second year. It was soon subscribed and the work inaugurated for the second year. More economical plans were adopted and more system observed in the expenditure of funds. One hundred feet were added to the east and west wings of the building, and the decorations were as elaborate and beautiful as for the first year. One hundred of the patriotic women of the city were organized into groups of ten each, and they worked eight and ten hours a day for over 100 days in decorating the building. Such another example of patriotic purpose was never before seen in any community.
The building, when completed, was as beautiful and more elaborate than the first. Cities and counties from all over the state were assigned space in the building and prizes offered for the most attractive decoration. This enlisted the interest of many towns and counties, and the result was very gratifying.
The attendance for the second year exceeded that of the first, as the beauty and attractiveness as well as the utility of the exhibit had been heralded over the state and adjoining states. The season was most profit- able and successful from every standpoint.
The last night but one was dedicated to a grand fancy dress ball, to be held on the ground floor of the building, which had a space for dancing of approximately 16,000 square feet. A most extensive ballroom. Special trains were run from nearby cities and towns, that from Dallas bringing over 1,000 people in their best "bib and tucker." But they were destined not to enjoy the occasion. Just as the floor had been cleared and the visitors were entering the gates, the cry of "Fire ! Fire !! Fire !!! " rang through the building, carrying terror to every inmate of the vast structure. How the fire originated was never determined. It started on the north side, about the center of the main building, and in less time than it takes to write these lines, the entire structure was a mass of flames, inside and out. It was estimated that there were 7,000 people in the building, and why hun- dreds did not perish is a mystery. The officials of the company, who were present, directed the visitors to the various exits, of which there were sixteen, and no Sunday school in the country was ever dismissed with more decorum and good order. Every person accepted the direction of those in charge as if they were on dress parade on a military plaza. In four min- utes the building was a mass of flame, inside and out, and in eleven min- utes the building fell to the ground. So rapid was the spread of fire that the firemen, who were stationed in different parts of the building with VOL. II-28
872
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
their hose connected to the fire hydrants, did not have time to turn on the water.
That the loss of life was not appalling is one of the wonders of the occasion. About thirty people were injured, more or less seriously, and many were burned. Low-necked and short-sleeved dresses of the ladies exposed them to the falling cinders and pieces from the decorations, which were of the lightest and most inflammable character.
One life only was sacrificed, that of Al Haynes, a civil engineer, who was one of the most active and efficient in directing the moving throngs to the various exits and rendering assistance to the people. He seemed to be as cool and collected as any person in the building. But he seemed to have lost self-control at the last minute and ran and jumped through a window to the ground below, a distance of seventeen feet. The fall broke both ankles and prevented him from getting away from the fire, which was raging over that part of the exterior. Some gallant men took the "fly" from a tent that stood in the garden, and, holding it before them, rushed up and threw it over Haynes and then dragged him away from the build- ing. The most conspicuous man in this was a workman named Mahoney, who was badly burned. Haynes was removed to the hospital and received the best medical treatment that could be obtained, but he succumbed to the injuries received the following day.
The ladies of the city, under the leadership of Mrs. Drew Pruitt, now of Los Angeles, solicited the funds and erected the monument to his memory that now stands in the triangle at the foot of Main and Houston Streets.
The Spring Palace, which was a credit to the public spirit of the peo- ple of Fort Worth, went out in a blaze of glory.
A RAILWAY MAP
On July 26, 1873, the Fort Worth Democrat, of which the editor of these volumes was the proprietor, printed a map showing the future rail- road situation at Fort Worth. At that time there was not a line of rail- road headed toward Fort Worth within 100 miles. The map showed nine roads entering the city from every point of the compass and afforded eleven outlets.
The map was drawn by Mr. Zane Cetti, a member of the engineer corps making a survey of the transcontinental division of the Texas & Pacific from Texarkana. through Paris and Sherman to Fort Worth, and when the survey was completed Mr. Cetti located at Fort Worth and is still a respected and honored resident of the city. This map elicited much comment and ridicule from the press of Texas and from the interests op- posed to Fort Worth. It was utilized by the real estate firm of Lawrence Cetti & Brewer for advertising their business. A replica of the map, ten feet square, was erected in front of the court house at the head of Main Street, where it could be seen by every visitor to the city.
Captain Paddock assisted in securing the construction of each of the lines shown on the map, all of which had been constructed by the year 1885.
In November of that year, Captain Paddock's attention was called to the fact that one of the lines, which he had predicted, the one to the south-
873
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
west, now called the Fort Worth & Rio Grande, had not been constructed. He announced that he would build this road himself in order that his pre- diction might be fulfilled. He was then the paying teller of the First National Bank ; he resigned his position and visited the financial centers of the country soliciting funds for the construction of this road. After about ten months of arduous labor, he secured a contract with a bank in New York and one in Philadelphia for the necessary funds. His contract was executed on October 11, 1886, and work of construction was commenced on November 23.
Four roads in addition to those shown on this map, to-wit : The Rock Island, the Frisco, the Cotton Belt and the International and Great North- ern, have been built into the city.
After serving as president of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande, Captain Paddock resigned, thinking that his experience would be of value in addi- tional work of the same character, and endeavored to promote a road to the northwest, through Springtown to Graham and beyond. A surveying corps was put in the field, the profiles and maps drawn and executed, and he again appealed to the large financiers in the East for funds. He spent many years and from $50,000 to $60,000 in a futile effort to construct this road. He enlisted the interest of capital at various times, he had inspec- tions made by engineers, always receiving a favorable report, but never succeeded in getting the money.
His last effort in this direction was in 1913, when a coterie of gentle- men in Fort Worth, five in number, joined him in another attempt to secure this much-desired outlet for the business of the city. They were successful in securing a contract for large sums of money, and again sur- veying maps and profiles were made ; but the advent of the world war put an end to their activities.
Captain Paddock insists that he will live long enough to see this road constructed, and if he dies before this consummation it will be over his protest.
CYNTHIA A. PARKER
In May, 1836, the Comanche and Caddo Indians made a raid into Limestone County and attacked Parker's Fort on the Navasota River. They captured thirty-five prisoners, among whom was a little girl named Cynthia Anne Parker, the daughter of the man after whom the fort was named. There is no record accessible as to what became of the other prisoners, but the little girl was adopted by the Indians, with whom she lived for many years.
In 1860, Capt. L. S. Ross, subsequently a brilliant brigadier general in the Confederate army and governor of Texas, in command of a company of Texas Rangers, in an engagement with the Indians in Parker County, captured, among other prisoners, Cynthia Anne Parker, then a grown woman. She was returned to her relatives in that county, and it is related that she was never satisfied with the customs and manners of civilized life and yearned to return to life among the Indians. She was the mother of three children, one of whom was Quanah Parker, for whom the town of Quanah, in Hardeman County, was named.
Quanah Parker was a consistent friend of the white man. He recog- nized that the wild and untrammeled life of the Indian was past and cheer-
874
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
fully submitted to the government of the whites. He, with his wives, of whom there were four, made frequent visits to Fort Worth and was always welcomed and entertained by the people. He became a protege of S. B. Burnett, who had large cattle interests on the Comanche reservation.
On one occasion, Quanah and Yellow Bear, the chief of the Comanches, visited Fort Worth and were the guests of the El Paso Hotel. Retiring at night, in their room, they blew out the gas and the next morn- ing, when they failed to make their appearance, the room was entered and Yellow Bear was found dead and Quanah unconscious. By strenuous and heroic efforts, Quanah's life was saved.
In company with some of the citizens of Fort Worth who were familiar with the circumstances, Quanah took the remains of his dead chief back to the Reservation. He did this with much trepidation, not knowing how the Indians would receive the untimely death of their chief. However, no trouble was encountered and the story of Yellow Bear's death accepted.
Quanah Parker was elected as the successor to Yellow Bear as the chief of the Comanche Indians, which position he held until his death.
In the summer of 1878 there came to Fort Worth a burly, husky indi- vidual from East Tennessee, en route for Palo Pinto County, where he had relatives. Learning of his destination, some of the loafers around the El Paso Hotel remonstrated with him and insisted that it would be unsafe for him to go to Palo Pinto County. They asked him if he knew the dangers of the trip and whether or not he was armed for any circum- stances which he might encounter. He protested that he was not and, acting upon the advice of his newly-made friends, he went to a hardware store and purchased a pair of six-shooters and a cartridge belt and buckled them around his waist. When he returned to the hotel he was asked if he thought his baggage was safe. His friends pointed to the transfer man and told him that they had seen that man carry more than 100 pieces of baggage out of the hotel when the owners were not looking. He pro- ceeded to get his two grips and ensconced himself in a chair in the office with a grip on each side of him. Here he patiently awaited the arrival of the stage coach. Soon another friend approached him, saying: "Mister, you are carrying a pistol." "Indeed, I am," was his response, "two of them." He was informed that it was against the law to carry pistols in Texas and that he was under arrest. It was arranged with the hotel clerk that he should take the pistols as security and go on the stranger's bond, and he was allowed to depart. Before the stage left, another friend ap- proached him and told him that the wolves were very bad along the route, and he was advised to get some assafoetida and put it in his clothes, as that would keep the wolves away. He went to a drug store and secured some of the drug and started on his way. He had gone but a short dis- tance, when the other occupants of the coach became aware of the pres- ence of the assafoetida and asked who the custodian was. When it was discovered that he was the possessor of the drug, he was made to get out and walk back to town. When he found that he was being made game of he was about as highly incensed an individual as one could imagine, but had prudence and sense enough to accept the situation good-naturedly. His pistols were returned to him and he took the stage the next day to Palo
875
FORT WORTH AND THE TEXAS NORTHWEST
-
Pinto County, where it is presumed he arrived in safety and lived happily ever after.
During what was known as the wild and woolly days of Fort Worth, when gambling houses were operated with wide open doors on the first floor of business houses, Fort Worth was the abiding place of several of the most noted desperadoes of the Southwest. Among these were Luke Short, who came from Dodge City, Kansas, with a record for being handy with his gun, Jim Courtright, a prod- uct of Colorado, and Ben . Thompson, who made his home between San Antonio and Austin but made frequent visits to Fort Worth, where he often indulged in his favorite pastime of "shooting up the town." Ben was "as mild mannered a man as ever cut a throat or scuttled a ship," when not engaged in a fracas he was as quiet and debonair an individual as one would care to meet. He finally met his fate in a variety theater in San Antonio, where he was killed by a man by the name of Fisher. Many people drew an easy breath when they read of Ben Thompson's demise.
Luke Short was a man of small stature, pleasing address and always wore a captivating smile. He was handy with his gun and ill fared the man who aroused his ire.
Jim Courtright was a rough ashler, fearless and courageous. He was at one time city marshal of Fort Worth and, while indulging in many lawless escapades of his own, he was vigilant and untiring in his efforts to preserve the peace and arrest the law-breaker. He finally met his death at the hands of Luke Short in a gambling house known as the White Elephant. At one time Courtright went to New Mexico on a mission of some kind and while there a robbery and murder was committed in which it was thought Courtright was involved. He managed to elude officials and returned to Texas.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.