Fort Worth Off The Beaten Path

1 more image

The plaque reads:
Native Americans hunted bison on the plains of North Texas in the 1800s. They traded freely with settlers, but conflicts did occur. Some tribal villages were attacked and some settlers’ homesteads were raided and captives taken.
In January 1861, a photo of captive Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter Topsannah was taken in Fort Worth. In 1836 Cynthia Ann, age 9, and others had been taken from their family compound at Fort Parker by Comanche. She then lived her life as a Comanche. Comanche leader Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann had three children. In 1860 she and her daughter were captured by Texas Rangers and returned to the Parker family who lived in Tarrant County. Topsannah died in 1863. Parker’s life until she died in 1870 was spent in sadness, lonely for her life as a Comanche. Her son, Quannah, became a great leader of the Comanche as a warrior and a statesman and frequently visited Fort Worth.
sponsored by: city of fort worth

Located at West side of Main between 7th & 8th Streets

The plaque reads:

Fort Worth residents got their first sight of flying machines in 1911 when the International Aviators National Tour was lured to town by Amon G. Carter, Sr. That same year the first “air mail” letter was delivered.
During World War I, the U.S., Canada, and Britain jointly established three airfields where 2,000 pilots trained. The city’s first airport, Meacham Field, opened in 1925. Texas Air Transport began regular mail and passenger service in 1928; it became American Airlines in 1934.
Thousands of B-24 “Liberator” bombers were built in Fort Worth during World War II. Pilots trained at adjacent Tarrant Air Field, renamed Carswell Air Force Base in 1948. The site became the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in 1994. Known as an aviation manufacturing center for bombers, fighter planes, helicopters, and commercial aircraft, Fort Worth also became a major transportation center in 1974 with the opening of DFW International Airport.
sponsored by: lockheed martin.

Located at East side of Main between 6th & 7th Streets.

1 more image

The plaque reads:

When professional photographer John Swartz snapped the famous photograph of five young men in 1901, he had no idea it would end up on a “wanted” poster. Swartz and his brothers, considered Fort Worth’s premier photographers, were unaware that the dandily-dressed men were notorious outlaws. Pleased with his work, Swartz placed a copy of the photo in his studio window. It wasn’t until a Pinkerton detective recognized one of the men in the photo that Swartz knew he had taken what was to become a legendary portrait of “the Wild Bunch.” The five men were Harry Longbaugh (the Sundance Kid), Ben Kilpatrick, George Lee Roy Parker (Butch Cassidy), Will Carver and Harvey Logan. They had been in Fort Worth for two months, but by the time law enforcement issued the poster on May 15, 1901, the elusive gang had already moved on. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were never captured.
sponsored by: mollie l. and garland m. lasater, jr.

Located East side of Main between 5th & 6th Streets

1 more image

The plaque reads:

From his arrival in Fort Worth in 1905 until his death, Amon Carter was the city’s most vigorous booster and champion. At his death, it was said that more than half of the city’s workers were employed by businesses Carter helped establish. As the owner and publisher of the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Carter tirelessly promoted Fort Worth and West Texas and was responsible for the paper’s masthead, “Where the West begins.”
Through his national influence, Carter brought World War I and II military bases and manufacturing plants to Fort Worth. In 1922 he established WBAP, Fort Worth’s first radio station with studios in the Blackstone Hotel. In 1948, Carter started Texas’ first TV station, WBAP Channel 5.
The Amon Carter Museum, one of the nation’s premiere art museums, features his collection of Remington and Russell, as well as other American art.
sponsored by: amon g. carter foundation.

East side of Main between 5th & 6th Streets

1 more image

Herman Paul Koeppe of Wyatt C. Hedrick's office designed this facility which is actually two separate buildings. The larger building is the station itself, and the smaller building is a Fire Alarm Signal Station. These buildings are good examples of the Zigzag Moderne Style of the Art Deco era. One notable feature of the building is a 70 foot high siren tower located to the rear of the Fire Station. The tower looks like a miniature version of the Will Rogers Pioneer Tower, designed by Koeppe a few years later. As with many Zigzag Moderne buildings, the fire station uses ornate brick work to carry out the design. The building is still used by the Fort Worth Fire Department as the Central Station. The Alarm Signal Station also houses the Code Enforcement Division for the City of Fort Worth. R.F. Ball was the General Contractor for the building.http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/fire2.htm

Location: 1000 Cherry, Fort Worth Texas 76102

3 more images

Horsethief by Jack Bryant 1989. This depicts a Horsethief trying to escape into Mexico with a stolen Cavalry horse. As we all know back then the end result if you got caught you most certainly get jail time, fined and the worst scenario was being possibly hanged.

The plaque reads: "Cross the creek to the Rio is where I'd like to be and if this old horse won't make this jump, this will be the end of me."

Located on Camp Bowie Boulevard & Clifton Street right across front the Kimbell Art Museum

2 more images

This lovely statue is called the “High Desert Princess” She stands in tribute to all cowgirls and stands in grandeur in front of The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. She was donated and commissioned by The Burnett Foundation and sculpted by Mehl Lawson.

The museum is located at 1720 Gendy Street in the heart of Fort Worth's Cultural District.

3 more images

The plaque reads:
After many years of debate, Fort Worth researchers identified this site in 1957 as the location of the city's first Masonic lodge. For more than twenty years, lodge members met in a two-story hall at this location. The group organized in 1854 and received its charter the following year as Fort Worth Masonic Lodge No. 148, A.F. & A.M. Members initially rented space for meetings and began construction on their own lodge hall in 1857. The new building offered space for lodge functions on the second floor, which was a single room, and the Masonic group operated a school on the ground level. The first floor space was divided into two rooms and was available for public meetings and church services.

Donated to the lodge by Middleton T. Johnson, the site of the lodge once lay outside the city's populated area. The hall sat well beyond the old fort grounds, and even at about four blocks east of the public square it was built on unplatted land outside the city's business district. Although plain in appearance, the red-brick building signified progress and civilization. Its two stories faced west with a bell tower over the main entrance. In 1871, Lawrence Steel, a member, sold the lodge an English-made bell (c. 1782) that became known as the Masonic bell. It rang to announce stagecoach arrivals, fires and the start of the school day.
By 1878, the Masons had outgrown their lodge hall at this site, and they moved to a new building at Second and Main. Lodge No. 148 has continued to be a strong presence in the community, spawning an additional fifteen lodges in Fort Worth. (2006)

315 E. Belknap (temporarily at Main and Belknap, 3 blocks SW of actual site)