Helen M. Markgraf Collection

 

 

Summary: Donor is a member of the Tarrant County Genealogical Society, the co-editor of Historic Oakwood Cemetery, and the recipient of the 2003 William E. Jary Jr. Award for preserving Tarrant County history. Sam Rosen (1868-1932) came to America from Russia at the age of 12. In 1895, he began his business career in Fort Worth as a peddler of tin goods and jewelry. He later opened a dry goods store in the area of old Fort Worth called "Hell's Half Acre" and eventually added a clothing store. He bought 1,000 acres of farmland north of Fort Worth city limits as the new stockyards and packing plants began a boom in what would become the city of North Fort Worth. In 1902 he developed the Rosen Heights subdivision, complete with a streetcar system (image shown), electricity and water systems, and an amusement park with a 50-acre lake. He also donated land for Sam Rosen Elementary School (1909) and for churches in Rosen Heights.