TARRANT COUNTY, TX
Tarrant County Archives
Black History Month, February 2021
In celebration of Black History Month, the Tarrant County Archives has gathered images and materials relating to the history of the Black community in Tarrant County. Collections range in date from the late nineteenth century to present day. All images and materials shown below are available to research and view by arranging an appointment to visit the Tarrant County Archives. Contact the Tarrant County Archives for more information.
"Adopted Daughter of Rachel," 1880s, Tom Wiederhold Collection
Community
The images below are from the Ben and Deanna Morgan (Guillary) Collection. The collection is believed to have come from an African American family in Fort Worth, possibly the Murray family. The collection contains numerous images related to African American life in Fort Worth in the twentieth century. Names that appear in the collection are the Murray family, the McMurtrey family, and the Turnhill family.
Above is the first American Legion sponsored junior baseball team in Texas for African Americans in 1954, Larry Budanauro Collection.
Above are African American soldiers at Camp Bowie. The soldiers were in the Convalescent Pneumonia Ward and are browsing a mobile library, Dalton Hoffman Collection.
Above is an African American band at Douglas Park in Fort Worth. From the Dalton Hoffman Collection.
The Masonic Grand Chapter, Order of Eastern Star, was established in 1876. The souvenir programs and napkin below are from the golden anniversary of the women's affiliate of the African American chapter of the Free Masons in Fort Worth. Also below are pamphlets for the by-laws of the Provident Lodge of the Black Masons of Fort Worth and the Constitution of the Masonic Juvenile Department. Dalton Hoffman Collection.
Businesses
The above panoramic is from the Charles Stamps Collection show the beginnings of Fort Worth's African American business district. The foreground intersection is East Ninth and Calhoun Streets. Many of these premises were occupied by African Americans, including businessman William "Gooseneck" McDonald (image below). McDonald was a leader in the Fort Worth business community and banker of Fort Worth's first Black-owned bank. He was the leader of the Texas Black and Tan Republicans and was aided by an heiress of the Hutton family. The Southeast Fort Worth YMCA branch is named after McDonald.
William "Gooseneck" McDonald, undated
The Black Voice was founded by Audrey Pruitt in 1957. The paper was established to spread positive news about the Black community in Tarrant County. The paper is still run by the Pruitt family and is the longest running weekly Black newspaper in the county.
One of the businesses in Fort Worth's African American business district was the Ritz Theatre. The Ritz was a Black-owned and operated movie theater at 909 Calhoun Street. The Ritz Theatre movie ticket shown below is from the Richard F. Selcer Collection. It is dated January 13, 1941 and is signed by the theater manager, M.C. Maxwell.
Below is a delivery car and the interior of the Green Leaf Cafe, a Black-owned business in Fort Worth. The Green Leaf Cafe was located in Fort Worth's African American business district at 315 E. 9th Street, Larry Budanauro Collection.
Below is the Westway Motel and Restaurant located on Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. The postcard describes the motel as the "Finest Colored Motel in the South" and boasted air-conditioning, telephones in each room, wall-to-wall carpeting, a private club, and a swimming pool. Dalton Hoffman Collection.
Below is the home of R.C. Houston, a Black owner of a hardware store in 1916. R.C. Houston, Hardware was located in Fort Worth's Black business district on 9th Street. Dalton Hoffman Collection.
View the "Advertising" section of the 1956 I.M. Terrell High School yearbook. Several of the businesses listed were Black-owned and operated.
Schools
I.M. Terrell High School opened in 1882 and was the first Black high school in Fort Worth. It was named for Isaiah Milligan Terrell who was the head of the first free public school for African Americans in Fort Worth, East Ninth Street Colored School. Terrell served as Superintendent of Colored Schools in 1890 and as Principal of I.M. Terrell High School from 1910-1915. In 1915, Terrell became an administrator at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College, now known as Prairie View A&M University. I.M. Terrell High School closed in 1973 and was re-opened as an elementary school in 1998. The school was recently renovated, expanded and re-named the I.M. Terrell Academy of STEM and Visual Performing Arts.
I.M. Terrell High School football team, undated
I.M. Terrell High School yearbook, 1956
I.M. Terrell High School girls, undated
Publications
The Tarrant County Archives holds several books on the history of
the Black community in the county. Included are books by Reby Cary, a
local African American author. Cary has published numerous books on
the history of the Black community in Tarrant County. In addition to
being an author, Cary has worked as a real-estate broker, a counselor,
teacher, and administrator at a number of Texas colleges. He was also
the first African American elected to the Fort Worth Independent
School District School Board. He also served as a Texas State
Representative for District 95 from 1979-1985.
The Archives holds digital copies of the publications below. These publications were Black owned and operated and printed in Fort Worth. They covered a wide array of topics relevant to Black life in the United States. From the Dalton Hoffman Collection.
Negro Achievements Magazine, April 1950
The White Man and the Negro Magazine, Volume 1-7, September 1932
The White Man and the Negro Magazine, Volume 2, Number 4, June 1933
The White Man and the Negro Magazine, Volume 2, Number 10, December 1933
Sepia magazine, April 1960
Sepia magazine, May 1960
Sepia magazine, February 1962