Timeline of Arlington, Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Arlington, Texas, USA.

  • 1542 – Spanish explorers make camp in an Indian Village named Guasco at current-day Dottie Lynn Pkwy.[1]
  • 1838 – Robert Sloan and Nathaniel T. Journey lead an expedition into present-day Euless and Arlington that was recorded as one of the first Anglo-American efforts to open the area to settlement.[2][3]
  • 1841 –
  • 1843 – Treaty of Bird's Fort, a peace treaty between Native Americans and the Republic of Texas opens the door to settlement in the entire region.[1][2][6]
  • 1848 – "Father of Tarrant County" Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson's Company of Texas Rangers is assigned to Kaufman Station, later known as Johnson Station.[1]
  • 1853 – Patrick A. Watson and a group of settlers arrive and settle on land that now borders the present Watson Road.[2]
  • 1869 – Reverend Andrew Shannon Hayter arrives and organizes the Good Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church.[2][7]
  • 1870 – Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson's body is exhumed from Texas State Cemetery and buried in a family cemetery on Arkansas Lane.[8]
  • 1871 –
    • United States Congress approved a charter for a transcontinental railroad, including Arlington, Texas.[2]
    • Elder John Quarles Burnett meets with 17 fellow Baptists and organizes the first church in Johnson Station - Johnson Station Baptist Church.[9]
  • 1873 – Settlement founded near site of present-day city.[10]
  • 1876 –
    • Texas and Pacific Railway established a stop mid-way between Dallas and Fort Worth in present-day Arlington.[10][11]
    • The town situated around the train stop is named "Hayterville" after Rev. Andrew Shannon Hayter.[12]
    • Carver Dixon "Uncle Dutch" King becomes the first mayor of Arlington.[13][14]
    • Johnson Station Baptist Church moves with the community three miles north, eventually becoming known as First Baptist Church of Arlington.[9]
  • 1877 –
  • 1878 -
    • A group of Methodists meet in Schults' lumberyard at Mesquite and Front Streets and organize the first church congregation in Arlington's original township.[15]
    • Arlington landowner James Daniel Cooper builds a majestic colonial house on the corner of what is now Cooper St. and Abram St.[16]
  • 1880 – U.S. Census shows a population of 275 people with eight general merchants, three drug stores, a lumber dealer, two physicians, a hotel keeper, a saloon operator and various other occupations including farming.[7][17]
  • 1881 – M. J. Brinson becomes mayor for the first time.[18]
  • 1883 – William Timmerman and Colonel Thomas Spruance establishes the city's first newspaper called "The World."
  • 1884 – Arlington officially incorporates as a city.[11]
  • 1885 –
    • Edward Emmett Rankin becomes mayor for just a month.[19]
    • First church building in Arlington is built.[15]
  • 1887 – Cemetery Society (later Arlington Historical Society) founded.[20]
  • 1889 – M. J. Brinson becomes mayor for the second time.[18]
  • 1891 – Rice Wood Collins, a successful merchant, starts public well campaign for access to water.
Postcard of the Arlington mineral well, 1914
Replica of the historic mineral well in Downtown Arlington, in front of a mural.
  • 1892 - “Christmas Eve Massacre” gunfight leaves four men and a horse dead on Main Street near the rail station.[11]
  • 1893 -
    • The original mineral well is drilled by a wood-powered steam engine.[15]
    • McKinley-Woodward Home is built by Jesse Stanley McKinley, Arlington's first hardware merchant at 400 E. First. One of the oldest structures in the city.[15]
    • Arlington's first newspaper "The World" is renamed to "The Arlington Democrat."[17]
  • 1895 – The city well becomes an official corner point for the city's four new political wards. The well was a focal point for political rallies, parades, cotton sales and the mineral water itself.[15]
  • 1896 –
    • William W. McNatt, a merchant and farmer, sells a portion of his farm to sell lots for burial. Many Arlington pioneers are buried thereafter.
    • Hutchison-Smith Home is built on 312 N. Oak, once owned by I. L. Hutchison, Arlington merchant and pioneer.[15]
  • 1897
    • Arlington Journal newspaper begins publication, changing its name from "The Arlington Democrat."[21][22]
    • Mount Olive Baptist congregation formed.[23]
  • 1899 – Carver Dixon King becomes mayor for a second term lasting only two months.[24]
  • 1900 –
    • William C. Weeks becomes mayor.
    • Population: 1,079.[25]

20th century

  • 1902 –
  • 1903 –
  • 1904 –
    • T. G. Bailey becomes mayor.[28]
    • The city forms its first high school, and grades 8-11 met at South Side School.
    • Texas & Pacific Railroad Depot is built.[15]
  • 1905 – First high school class graduates in Arlington
  • 1906 –
    • William C. Weeks becomes mayor again.
    • W. A. Thornton Home is built at 719 W. Abram, the first home in Arlington with gas lights.[15]
    • Ghormley-Arnold Home is built at 404 E. First for Dr. W. I. Ghormley.[15]
  • 1907 –
    • Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church South, the first brick church opens on the N.E. corner of Center and Division Streets.[13]
    • Douglass-Potts Home located on 206 W. North is built.[15]
    • Vaught Home at 718 W. Abram is built for T. J. Trammell and purchased by Alex Vaught.[15]
  • 1909 –
    • James Park Fielder Sr. becomes mayor for a short two months.[29]
    • Dr. William Harold Davis becomes mayor after Fielder.[30]
  • 1910 –
    • Alton C. Barnes becomes mayor.[31]
    • The Commercial Club funds construction of a new mineral well where water flows through lions' heads mounted on a four-sided structure.[15]
    • Population: 1,794.[25]
Postcard of the Home for Aged Masons, undated
  • 1911 – Masonic Home for Aged Masons opens, now known as Texas Masonic Retirement Center.[15]
  • 1912 – Rufus H. Greer becomes mayor of Arlington for the first time.[32]
  • 1913 – John M. Elliott Home at 1210 W. Abram is built, an example of a hipped roof bungalow with classical influences.[15]
  • 1914 – Historic Fielder House at 1616 W. Abram is built by prominent banker James Park Fielder.[15]
  • 1915 – P.F. McKee becomes mayor.[33]
  • 1916 –
    • Rufus H. Greer becomes mayor of Arlington for the second time.[32]
    • South Center Street Historic District is planned out by William Rose, housing the city's earliest merchants and craftsmen.[15]
    • Mayor William H., & Ollie Gibbins Rose Home at 501 S. Center is built as the first addition to South Center Street Historic District.[15]
  • 1917 –
    • Arlington Military Academy becomes Grubbs Vocational College.[7]
    • Zachary Slaughter opens the city's first car dealership.[7]
    • Slaughter-Geer Home is built by Zack Slaughter for his father and stepmother at 505 S. Center.[15]
    • Wylie F. Altman opens the Altman Ladies Store in Arlington.[34]
  • 1918 - Historic Dickerson Home at 400 N. Pecan is built by Martin Luther Dickerson, a cotton broker in Arlington and Ft. Worth.[15]
  • 1919 –
    • William H. Rose becomes mayor, bringing with him progression such as city audits, ordinances, the first sidewalks, a modern water system and new businesses.[35]
    • Ransom Hall is built on Grubbs Vocational College campus at 602 S. West as the first administration building.[15]
  • 1920 –
    • Population: 3,031.
    • Arlington adopts a home rule city charter.
  • 1921 –
    • The highway from Dallas to Arlington is widened and carries interstate traffic through the center of the city.
    • Pulley Home on 201 E. North is built, exemplifying the asymmetrical bungalow architectural style.[15]
  • 1922 –
    • Arlington High School built on Cooper St. and Abram St, the first official high school in AISD.[15]
    • Tarrant County starts the first public library in Arlington.[7]
  • 1923 –
    • William Green Hiett becomes mayor of Arlington for the first time, during which the first paved roads were built.[36]
    • Grubbs Vocational College changes name to North Texas Agricultural College.[27]
    • Arlington Cemetery Association is chartered, taking care of Arlington Cemetery.
  • 1924 –
    • Meadowbrook Park opens as the first park in Arlington.[13]
    • Eastern Star Home is built to provide a home for aged and infirm members of the Eastern Star Organization in Texas at 1201 E. Division.[15]
  • 1925 - Hugh Moore becomes mayor of Arlington for a year.[37]
1926 map of Arlington
  • 1926 –
    • Elmer L. Taylor becomes mayor for a year.[38]
    • Top O' Hill Terrace changes ownership and converts facilities into an illegal casino.[39]
  • 1927 – William Green Hiett becomes mayor of Arlington for the second time.
  • 1928 –
    • The first car showroom is opened by the Thannisch Chevrolet Company on the edge of downtown.[15]
    • Construction for the Cooper Hotel begins at 300 N. Center.[15]
    • Preston Hall at 604 S. West is built as a science hall by North Texas Agriculture College.[15]
    • Old Mayor's House at 814 E. Abram is built by cattle broker Dave Martin, once owned by B. C. & Francine Barnes.[15]
  • 1929 –
    • Arlington Downs horse-racing track opens.[40]
    • The Cooper Hotel celebrates its grand opening.[15]
    • W. J. Pulley opens Pulley Footwear.
  • 1930 – U.S. Census shows Arlington population at 3,700.
  • 1931 – John H. Pilant becomes mayor.[41]
  • 1932 – O.S. Gray founded a pecan nursery on West Division Street. He develops and makes five varieties of pecan trees.
  • 1933 –
    • W.L. Barrett becomes mayor of Arlington.[42]
    • Texas state legislature grants Arlington Downs the first legal parimutuel betting permit.
  • 1934 – Arlington Citizen newspaper begins publication.[21][22]
  • 1935 – Wylie F. Altman becomes mayor through World War II.[34]
  • 1936 – Berachah Industrial Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls reopens as an orphanage called Berachah Child Institute.[43]
  • 1937 –
    • Arlington Downs is sold to commercial developers due to the repeal of betting laws.[40]
    • North Side School opens, now known as Kooken Elementary School.[13]
  • 1938 –
    • The interurban rail line serving Arlington ceases operations on Christmas Eve.
    • T.W. (Hooker) Vandergriff purchases the Thannisch Chevrolet Company building and becomes the Thannisch-Vandergriff Bldg.[15]
  • 1939 – Arlington Post Office is built by the Federal Works Agency on 200 W. Main St, now the Worthington National Bank Building.[23][15]
  • 1940 – Population: 4,240.
  • 1941 – Mural Gathering Pecans by Otis Dozier is painted in the Arlington Post Office building.[44]
  • 1942 – Berachah Child Institute orphanage ceases operations.[45]
  • Tom J. Vandergriff, Arlington's future revolutionary mayor, graduates from Arlington High School.
  • 1947 –
    • B.C. Barnes becomes mayor of Arlington.[46]
    • Texas Rangers police bust the Top O' Hill Terrace illegal casino and speakeasy and shut it down permanently.[39]
    • Cosden Petroleum facility and St. Albans Episcopal Church opens.[47]
  • 1949 –
  • 1950 –
    • Arlington Music Hall opens, originally as a walk-in theater.[48]
    • Colonial Apartments opens (approximate date).[47]
    • Population: 7,692.
  • 1951 –
    • Tom Vandergriff becomes mayor.[13]
    • The city's famous well on Main and Center is capped permanently under the intersection's pavement due to increased traffic.[15]
  • 1952 –
    • Sister city relationship established with Bad Königshofen, Germany.
    • Grace Lutheran church opens.[47]
    • Texas & Pacific Railroad Depot is demolished.[15]
    • James Daniel Cooper's historical house is donated to the city and relocated to Meadowbrook Park, serving as a library.[16]
  • 1953 – The city takes over the public library from Tarrant County.
  • 1954 –
  • 1955 – J.C. Penney and Sears chain stores in business.[47]
  • 1956 –
  • 1957 – Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike opens.[49]
  • 1958 –
  • 1959 – The first candidates for a four-year bachelor's degree enroll at Arlington State College.
  • 1960 – Population: 44,775.
  • 1961 –
  • 1962 –
    • Public Library opens.[51]
    • Cooper House is leased to the Arlington Woman's Club who refurbished and maintained the home.[16]
  • 1963 –
  • 1964 -
    • Arlington Municipal Airport opens.[49]
    • Speelunker Cave opens as Six Flags Over Texas's first dark ride.[52]
    • Meadowbrook Recreation Center is built on the northern edge of Meadowbrook Park.[53]
  • 1965 –
    • Turnpike Stadium opens.[49]
    • Dottie Lynn and Church Women United throw the first Annual 4 July parade.[54]
    • Vandergriff Chapel is built.[15]
    • Cooper House is designated as a Texas Historical Landmark.[16]
      Runaway Mine Train Coaster
  • 1966 –
  • 1967 – Arlington State College becomes the modern University of Texas at Arlington.[13]
  • 1968 – AISD sells the old Arlington High School/Ousley Jr. High building to UTA, and the School of Social Work opens.
  • 1970 –
  • 1972 –
  • 1973 –
  • 1974 –
  • 1977 - S.J. Stovall becomes mayor of Arlington, forming the organization Leadership Arlington during his term.[57]
  • 1976 – A monument for the famous Central St. Well is created in front of the Central Library.
  • 1979 – The Oakridge School opens.
  • 1980 –
  • 1981 –
  • 1982 –
  • 1983 –
    • Harold E. Patterson becomes mayor.[62]
    • Islamic Society Of Arlington founded.[63][64]
    • Bowie High School closes its original building on Arbrook Boulevard and becomes Workman Junior High School as a result.
  • 1985 –
  • 1987 –
    • Richard Greene becomes mayor, increasing funding for police and fire departments, developed plans for a new Texas Rangers ballpark, and led road construction programs.
  • 1988 –
  • 1989 – Mount Olive Baptist Church is rebuilt at 402 N. West St.
  • 1990 –
  • 1991 –
    • Tom J. Vandergriff is inducted into the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame.
    • S.J. Stovall Park Park opens at 2800 West Sublett Road.[13]
    • Bowie High School reopens and relocates on Highbank Drive.
  • 1992 -
    • Speelunker Cave at Six Flags Over Texas is replaced by dark ride Yosemite Sam & the Gold River adventure based on the Looney Tunes characters.[68]
    • The Witness Tree, an old post oak on the old Bardin Farm that grew to be 60 feet tall, is uprooted by Kmart and transplanted, where it later dies.[69]
  • 1993 –
    • The commercial tree preservation ordinance is adopted by City Hall following outcry over the Witness Tree's uprooting.[61]
    • Voters authorize the formation of single-member districts.[61]
      The Ballpark in 2018.
  • 1994 –
  • 1995 –
  • 1996 –
    • Arlington Morning News begins publication.[71]
    • City website online.[72][73]
    • Tarrant County College Southeast Campus opens.[61]
    • River Legacy Living Science Center opens to the public.[74]
    • Amber Hagerman is abducted and killed after riding her bike on Abram Street, and the Amber alert is established and named after her.[75]
  • 1997 –
    • Elzie Odom becomes Arlington's first African-American mayor, focusing on expanding education as well as theater and arts in downtown.
    • Texas Health Resources nonprofit established.[76]
    • A section of turf located behind Center Field at the Ballpark in Arlington is named Greene's Hill for the mayor's contributions to the Texas Rangers baseball club.[77]
  • 1998 – Cooper House is destroyed in an accidental fire on Halloween night.[16]
  • 1999 – Elzie Odom Athletic Center opens at 1601 N.E. Green Oaks Boulevard.
  • 2000 –
    • Old Town Historic District opens.[47]
    • Population: 332,969.[78]

21st century

  • 2001 –Eastern Star Home closes facilities.
  • 2002 –
  • 2003 – Robert Cluck becomes mayor.
  • 2004 –
  • 2005 - The commercial tree preservation ordinance is extended to residential developments.[61]
  • 2006 –
  • 2007 –
  • 2008 –
    • Opening night of the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Arlington with more than 1,800 people in attendance.[81]
    • Plans for Glorypark by AT&T Stadium are shelved.[82]
  • 2009 –
  • 2010 – Population: 365,438 city;[84] 6,371,773 metro;[85] 19,728,244 megaregion.[86]
  • 2011 -
  • 2012 –
    • University of Texas's College Park Center opens.[11]
    • Pentatonix returns to their hometown to perform a free concert at the Levitt Pavilion, breaking the attendance record with 12,000 people attending.[89]
  • 2013 –
  • 2014 –
    • Arlington changes its logo and slogan to "American Dream City."[91]
  • 2015 –
    • W. Jeff Williams becomes mayor.[13]
    • George W. Hawkes Central Library is demolished after 40 years of service.[92]
    • The original Sam Houston High School building demolishes.
  • 2016 –
  • 2017 –
    • AISD opens the Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center after it was approved in a 2014 bond.
    • Officials breaks ground on the new Texas Rangers stadium.[96]
    • Ride-sharing company Via becomes the city's only public transportation service, replacing Metro Arlington Xpress. First-year operations cost taxpayers $922,500.[97]
    • Texas Christkind Market combines with Enchant Christmas to create the Enchant Christmas Light Maze and Market for the next two years.[98]
  • 2018 –
    • George W. Hawkes Central Library second location celebrates its grand opening.
    • Arlington Convention Center re-opens as Esports Stadium Arlington & Expo Center, the largest dedicated esports facility in North America.
    • Arlington citizens vote to implement term limits on the city council.[99]
    • Yosemite Sam & the Gold River Adventure at SFOT semi-permanently closes after a bad storm.[68]
  • 2019 –
    • AISD opens the Arlington College and Career High School.[100]
    • Live! By Loews opens as a joint venture between Loews Hotels and the Texas Rangers to bring an upscale hospitality experience to the entertainment district.[101]
    • Arlington is chosen as the home of the National Medal of Honor Museum, set to be built in 2024.[102]
    • General Motors employees strike for 40 days for additional compensation and benefits.[102]
    • UTA receives funding to replace their School of Social Work building, the first Arlington High School building.[102]
    • Medical City Arlington opens their Medical City Women's Hospital.[102]
  • 2020 –
    • Globe Life Field celebrates a delayed opening for AISD high school graduation, and a few months later for a crowdless MLB game.
    • Globe Life Field hosts the entirety of the World Series, the first time the World Series has played at a single location since 1944.[103]
  • 2021 -
    • Via Rideshare service expands city-wide. The annual taxpayer expense becomes $2.2 million.[104][105]
  • 2023-
    • A reimagined version of the original downtown mineral well as a fountain and clock tower is constructed and completed, dubbed the "Mineral Well Park Plaza."[106][107]
    • Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series, the first world series win in the history of the franchise since arriving in Arlington in 1972.[108]

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

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