1616 W. Abram St. (at the Historic Fielder House) Arlington, TX 76013 817-460-4001 Geraldine Mills, Director fielderh@swbell.net www.historicalarlington.org Hours: Fielder House: Tues. through Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or by appointment) Knapp Heritage Park: Sat. 10-2 Newsletter Editor Tom Dodson at jeantom@sbcglobal.net In this Issue Newsletter Dec/Jan 2010/11 Stories from the Arlington Archives! 100 th anniversary of James and Mattie Fielder s Initial Acquisition of what became the 217-acre Fielder Farm By Tom Cogdell, Arlington Historical Society Board Member On 25 Feb 1910, James Park Fielder bought 76.6 acres of land in the northwest corner of the Owen Medlin Survey just west of Arlington (see map below). This turned out to be the initial purchase of what eventually became the 216.6 acre Fielder Farm. Eleven days after that initial land purchase, on 8 Mar 1910, James and Mattie Fielder sold a ten-acre strip along the east edge of the tract (along both sides of what is now Elliott Avenue) to Joe A. Elliott, who filed a plat for the Elliott Addition to Arlington on the land on 19 May 1910. The Elliott Addition was the first subdivision in what has since become the Oak Hill neighborhood. It would appear that these transactions are all part of a plan; this article will attempt to give the rest of the story. Mollie Gee is the key figure. Willoughby P. Gee brought his family (first wife (see Initial Acquisition of Fielder Farm on page 3) Antiques Info Market! NEW!! 5 Arlington Archives 1 Arlington Historical Society Membership Dues 5 Arlington Historical Society Officers 4 Arlington Historical Society s New Website 4 Christmas at the Fielder & Knapp Park! 2 Did you know this about Arlington s History? 6 Geraldine Mills Honored 1 Got Changes address, email, phone, etc.? 5 Old Timer s Schedule through March 2011 6 Reminder Annual Dues for 2010-11 are due 4,6 Write a Story for the Newsletter! 6 Geraldine Mills Honored Geraldine Nash Mills, longtime director of the Arlington Historical Society, was recently recognized by the Tarrant County Historical commission for her endeavors. She was the recipient of the William E. Jary Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Documentation of Tarrant County History. The award was presented at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth. (see Geraldine Mills Honored on page 5)
News from Arlington Historical Society Dec/Jan 2010/11 P. 2 W i n t e r H a p p e n i n g s a t t h e H i s t o r i c F i e l d e r H o u s e a n d K n a p p H e r i t a g e P a r k The Arlington Historical Society will be celebrating Christmas with two family-friendly venues: the Historic Fielder House and the Knapp Heritage Park. Friday, December 3 at 6 pm, elementary art students will be adorning the Knapp Heritage Park with handmade Christmas Stars for a Lone Star Celebration. James Ryan - resident, artisan, blacksmith of Knapp Heritage Park will be giving demonstrations in his Blacksmith Shop. Elementary choirs will be singing carols and there will be tours of the cabins and schoolhouse. Everyone is invited! The Historic Fielder House will once again open her doors on Monday, December 6 to celebrate the Holiday Season. The lighting of the Fielder s tree will be at 6 pm, followed by carriage rides down historic West Abram thru the lovely gardens of Hill Gilstrap. Santa will be upstairs near the fireplace to greet the children. Please bring your camera! Come and enjoy a Fielder family Christmas! For information call 817-460-4001
News from Arlington Historical Society Dec/Jan 2010/11 P. 3 Initial Acquisition of Fielder Farm (from page 1) Mary Ann, and daughters Nancy, Bettie, and Margaret) from Columbia County, Arkansas, to a farm near Johnson Station after the end of the Civil War. However, Mary Ann died in 1873 at the age of 48. Willoughby returned to Arkansas to marry (on 6 Jan 1876) Mrs. Mollie Tye, herself recently widowed, no doubt needing help raising three daughters while farming. Mollie Gee, Willoughby s new wife, purchased 60 acres in the northwest corner of the Owen Medlin Survey (see map below) on 2 Sep 1876, the deed styled to Mollie Gee, her heirs, and W. P. Gee, his heirs. She also bought a 30-acre wooded lot on the hilltop diagonally northwest, in the W. W. Warnell Survey, followed by 45 acres immediately east of the 60 acres she already owned. Thus, by 1890 she owned all the land on the south side of West Abram Street from Fielder Road to South Davis Drive (using present names). The Sam Street Map of Tarrant County in 1893 (below) shows the home there, identified Gee, roughly opposite where the Masonic Home was later built to the north. Willoughby and Mollie Gee were recorded there in the 1900 census, the daughters having married and moved away. However, Willoughby died at home one mile west of town on 18 Apr 1904 without a will. Needing income, Mollie began selling lots of two and four acres each along West Abram Street at the east end of the 105 acres she owned there. In doing so, she set aside land in 1906 for a road of 50 feet width running south from Abram Street to give access to the interior land to be sold later. This was the first lane into what is now the Oak Hill neighborhood; it later became known as Sunset Court. Soon one of her buyers attempted to resell his lot, whereupon the deed was questioned on account of the omission of the heirs of W. P. Gee from the deed. Under Texas community property laws, they had been part owners of the land. This conflict would also prevent her from making any further sales. She tried to clear up the deficiency by an affidavit filed in 1905 that the 45 acres of land was bought with her own individual money, part of said money being an inheritance, the rest accruing from her own means. This did not suffice. Joe A. and Eliza M. (Collins) Elliott lived on the hill in the W. W. Warnell Survey very close to Mollie's wooded 30 acres. Joe Elliott s family had moved out west to Merkel, Texas to ranch but soon came back to Arlington, possibly because of dust storms, because the cattle all froze, or perhaps to be closer to the numerous Collins and Elliott kin. He was ready to try real estate development and probably being aware of his neighbor Mollie's difficulties at that time, told J. P. Fielder about it. Thus Joe Elliott would eventually be privileged to buy ten acres for the Elliott Addition from Fielder for $10 and other valuable considerations. James Park Fielder was an LLB graduate of Vanderbilt University and had briefly (see Initial Acquisition of Fielder Farm on page 4)
News from Arlington Historical Society Dec/Jan 2010/11 P. 4 Initial Acquisition of Fielder Farm (from page 3) practiced law in Alvarado when he first came to Texas. He gave up the bar (both kinds) when he married Mattie Barnes, and thereafter was engaged in business, banking, and farming. He did continue to use his legal knowledge when making land deals. It can be assumed that he suggested a friendly lawsuit to the Gee family for the purpose of clearing the land title. The Court ordered that Mollie should receive 30 acres in her own name and share title in the remainder with the Gee heirs for her lifetime. The disposition of the remaining 75 acres, actually 76.6 acres when resurveyed, had already been agreed between Mollie, her three step-daughters and their husbands. It was sold to J. P. Fielder, the master of the events, for $10,100, to be divided among the members of the Gee family in a way that was not disclosed. So Mollie Gee got the 30 acres of land she chose, at the southwest corner of the intersection of West Abram Street and South Davis Drive. She had to take that acreage in order to clear titles that she had already sold. Joe Elliott soon got his ten acres from J. P. Fielder and platted the Elliott Addition. J. P. and Mattie Fielder had the 66.6 acres in the northwest corner of the Owen Medlin Survey, and soon began building the Fielder House now at 1616 West Abram Street (it was finished in 1914). J. P. Fielder later acquired 150 more acres adjoining on the south and reaching to what is now Park Row, which made the Fielder farm 216.6 acres when fully developed. The Fielder House is now, of course, the home of the Arlington Historical Society. xxxxxxxxxxxx Arlington Historical Society Officers President Bob Sherwood First V. P. (Membership) Tom Dodson Second V.P. (Events) Jeanie Mills Secretary Pat Thompson Treasurer Wanda Marshall AHS s brand new Website! Check it out!! www.historicalarlington.org We have not received the 2010-11 dues from several of our faithful members! $25 for Individual memberships $50 for Family memberships Please double check - Thanks!!
News from Arlington Historical Society Dec/Jan 2010/11 P. 5 PBS has its Antiques Roadshow Coming: Our own Antiques Info Market Saturday, March 5, 2011 Fielder House Museum 10 am to 3:30 pm New!!! An Antiques Info Market will be hosted by the Arlington Historical Society on Saturday, March 5, 2011, at the Fielder Museum in Arlington. Please plan to come between 10 AM and 3:30 PM to have several of your favorite small antique items appraised (only those items you can carry in by yourself). Feel free to ask questions and hear what the appraisers have to say about antiques in general and yours specifically. Listen in on some of the other appraisals! Because of the expected high turnout and to be fair to everyone, each visitor will be limited to three items per visit with an appraiser (but you can get back in line with more items!). The appraisal cost will be $10 per item. Although the appraisers are not professional appraisers (professionals would cost much more!), they will give you valuable information about your item(s). (continued in next column) GOT Changes?? Let us know if you change your mailing address, email address, or telephone number, so we don t lose contact with you!!! Call, or send us an email Antiques Info Market (continued) Start planning now what you will bring! Come join the fun!! Plan to take a look at some of the exhibits while you are there! We re looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, the 5th of March, 2011. Geraldine Mills Honored (from page 1) On October 23, Geraldine attended the Texas Trail of Fame in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District 2010 Induction Ceremony. She accepted an award on behalf of Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson, who is buried in Arlington s Historic Cemeteries on Arkansas Lane. The Texas Trail of Fame was established to honor those who have made a significant contribution to our Western way of life. xxxx Arlington Historical Society Membership Dues Class of Membership Individual Lifetime Family Lifetime Individual (annual Oct September) Family (annual Oct September) Amount $250 once $500 once $25 per year $50 per year Corporate Sponsorships are Available and Appreciated! Call 817-460-4001 Membership dues and Corporate Sponsorships are a vital part of our income for preserving and presenting Arlington s history. Annual Dues for 2010-11 are now payable!! Please send your check. Thanks!!
News from Arlington Historical Society Dec/Jan 2010/11 P. 6 Why don t you write a story for Stories from the Arlington Archives? This can be (1) your personal recollections of Arlington of the past, intermingled with historic facts, or (2) historic Arlington facts based on your research of some topic, without any personal connections. Send your submission to the Newsletter Editor, ideally as a Microsoft Word document attached to an email to Tom Dodson at jeantom@sbcglobal.net. If you don t have Word, you could mail it to the Fielder House. Be sure to include your contact information. You, too, can have your 15 minutes of fame!! OLD TIMERS SCHEDULE Old Timers is now meeting at the Fielder House on the 3rd Thursday each month at 2 p.m. Old Timers: where long-term Arlington residents (and other speakers) have opportunity to tell stories (and spin yarns?) about Arlington in days past. Everyone is invited to attend these informative and entertaining sessions. Dates and speakers for the balance of this year and early next year are: Did you know this about Arlington s History?? Submitted by Arlington Historical Society Board Member Jannette Workman Arlington High School s Little Arlie November 2, 1950 Tommy Vandergriff presented to the AHS student body a mascot a white Shetland pony. The student body was encouraged to enter a contest to name this little mascot. Reba Davis Walker, Class of 1953, suggested the name of Little Arlie, and that became the name of the little white Shetland pony. November 7, 1950 The Student Council chose Hugh Ross, Bobby Burnett, and Dave Hurn to handle and care for Little Arlie at all of the football games and other important school activities. November 10, 1950 Little Arlie was presented at half-time during the championship game with Pleasant Grove. Arlington won that game 22-0. Reba remembers going out on the field that evening when Little Arlie was formally presented to the students of AHS and the citizens of Arlington. Thought you might like to know this little tidbit about an important tradition of AHS. Jannette Workman, AHS Class of 1954. xxxxxxxxx December 16 Music by Donna Townsend January 20 Henry Armstrong February 17 Adell Campbell March 17 Donna Darovich Editor s notes: Tommy Vandergriff of Vandergriff Chevrolet was to be elected Mayor of Arlington the following year, 1951, and serve until 1977. Arlington High School was the only high school in Arlington until 1963. AHS s mascot had been the Colts since 1923, but they had never had a live mascot. Reminder!!! It s time to renew your annual membership in the Arlington Historical Society!! (the membership year runs from October through September ) Members (other than Lifetime members) should have already received a notice in the U.S. mail, along with a return envelope. Your support through your annual dues helps so much!! THANKS!!