Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-08-29
TARRANT COUNTY,
A Sketch Of the Early History Of the
Counsy-InierestIng Notes About
Times in the FortIes.
How tho Cownty Seat was Removed from
hhdyiie to Fort worth uAnd-to-s
Hand Fight with n Hear.
HISTORY OF A COUNTY.


HISTORY or COUNTY.
The following synopsis OF the early his.
tory OF Tarrent county Is furnished by b.
f. Walker, now a resident of Cotton.
wood, Callahan county:
In the early days prior 10 1880 this ter.
ritory was known as the Peters land
colony, while the Nacogdoches territory
was known as the Robertson land district.
In l649 Maj. Arnold, In command of
cavalry, selected Fort Worth as military
station, with instructions TO Law ont a
military road and erect forts along the
Western border. He selected Forts Rel.
KNAPP, Cooper, Claiborne, Phantom hin
and Fort Griffin. About 1862 these forts
were erected into military posts. The
troops at Fort Worth first canned al a
big spring about one mile east OF the
tort, close to the residence after
wards built by Col. Nat Terry. and
where, early in 1850, Mr.. Henry Dagpett
put up store OF general merchandise. the
hrst general store put up in Tarrapt
county. There was suffers store at
Fort Worth, kept by Mr.. Young. A man
named Cain was clerk. Afterwards. In
1850, Press Farmer acted as clerk. He is
! still alive, and lives eight miles south of
Fort Worth.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
made In Tarrant county were at Crane
vine prairie and north to the Denton
county line, also in the Crowley prairie.
The first settlers of Grapevine were
Gates, Myers, Baker, Eliot, Archie
Leonard, the Fosters, Andersons, the
Harris brothers, Hall and several more,
who settled early in lS4S. IN Crowiey's
settlement old man Crowley, his sons, V.
j. Hutton, the Rogers and several more
were the first settlers.
THE MILITARY.
Lieut.. Boles commanded the infantry.
About 1853 Mai. Arnold, with his COM
mand, moved TO Fort Graham on the
Brazos, and Maj Merrill took his place as
commander. AT Graham Mai. Arnold and
the army surgeon got into quarrel. Hot
and angry words passed. The doctor drew
his sixshooter and shot Mai. Arnold dead.
They were both sitting on the porch OF
the officers quarters. Both men were
drinking. About 1857 Maj Arnold's re-
mains were conveyed to Fort Worth
and buried with Masonic honors In the
cemetery alongside of his child IL was
in the early part of 1850 Tarrant county
was organized, named after Cen Tarrant,
senator for the district. The first cleo
ton for the location OF the county scat
was held under a spreading live oak at the
spring where the soldiers had encamped,
close by Henry Daggett's store, one mile
east OF the fort. Birdvllle was chosen
The place was called Birdville after Capt.
Bird of the rangers, who built fort sew
eral years before close TO the Trinity
river, about fifteen miles east of Fort
Worth and a few miles from the Crowley
prairie. 10 1850 the population of Tar
rant county was $50 persons. The popu-
lation OF the state Of Texas was estimated
at 100000.
THE OFFICES.
courthouse and clerks Office were
built at Birdville in 1850. The court
house was frame bulldog, 1Sx20 feet.
The walls were of oak boards, split and
shaved, four feet long and four inches
wide. The floor vas laid OF bewed punch
cons, about eight inches wide. The doors
were made of clap-boards, the same as
the frame. The clerks office was built
OF the same materials. The house was
sixteen feet square, divided by q clap
board petition for the county aud district
clerk Each Office was SXl6 feet. The
furniture OF the courthouse was long
table and hewed benches, made OF
split logs. There we've two chairs,
one for the Judge and another for the
clerk The clerks Office had table and
a dry-goods box fitted up with shelves for
books and papers The buildings cost
about one hundred and fifty dollars. One
of the commissioners said the price was
extravagant, that If Tarrant county went
into such extravaganza as that she would
be soon bankrupt. The clerks had to
find their chairs. The books OF the office
were common account books, costing
about seventy five cents each.
THE FIRST ELECTION
OF officers was held at Birdville, Nopem-
Der, 1850. Jason Watson Of Johnston
station was elected probate Judge; John
York, sheriff, Archy Leonard, county
clerk; j. A. Hurst, assessor and collector.
John w. Elllston, justice Of the peace,
and Lewis Tinsley, constable and cor
oner. The county commissioners were
Hamilton, Beunet, V. j. Hutton and
Crowley. A MIR. Catlin laid out the
county lines, and A. G., Walker was sur
veyor. Judge Is. II. Martin was our district
| Judge, and a young man named Bacon
was our first lawyer. In January, 1860, a
school house was built on the north side
OF the river, the place where afterwards
Charles Daggett built his residence. The
school was taught by the writer OF this
article, who is now in his sixty-eighth
year and located az Fort Worth In ls49.
Some OF The children walked six miles
daily to school. In 1850 the county was
very thinly settled; taking circle OF ten
miles with Fort Worth as the center
the settlements we're; On the east at
,Johnson's Station, M. 7. Johnson; VIM.
Buford, Isaac Watson, with about three
more families scattered near by. On the
west, ten miles distant, c. Connolly set
tied on the West Fork IN lS47 Az that
time this was the furthest settlement
| west. Conner settled two miles up the
river from the Fort, on the Charley
Turner place. On the north ana close 10
The river settled Baugh and Isaac Thomas,
while Sehoenov,r lived one mile lower
down on the river. In ls4e W. Litue
settled on what IS now known as the
Mitchell farm. About one mile TO the
northeast lived S Gilmore and Jonn
York. some three miles ast on Fossil
creek we're j w. Elliston and Lewis
Lindsey. Old Man Akers settled at Bird
Vile In 1870. II. Bennett settled IN lsAe
on what Is now known as the i. ID. Parker
place about ten miles east OF Fort
Worth. and Tumble and s. Haworth set
L a1a..u cont llf