Terrell Heights

Terrell Heights. . , Platted in the late 1880s and developed around the city's streetcar systems in the early 1900s, the near southeast neighborhood known as Terrell Heights became the premier neighborhood for many African Americans. Virtually built out by 1951, the majority of the neighborhood was devoted to single-family development with a few apartment buildings and duplexes spread throughout the area., Many of the first occupants in this area were encouraged to purchase lots and build their own homes by local African American banker, William Madison “Gooseneck Bill” McDonald. Himself a resident of the neighborhood since circa 1911, McDonald bought lots in this area and sold them to African Americans. He then offered to finance the building of residences. Those who followed McDonald into the area included doctors, dentists, nurses, educators, religious leaders and laborers. Fellow resident Reverend A.W. Pryor was pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church from 1924 to 1949. Dr. George D. Flemmings was a dentist and president of the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was president circa 1937-1975 during the desegregation clashes in Fort Worth and assisted other nearby communities. Mrs. Lucille Smith was the first African American woman to be a member of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Social institutions were formed with the neighborhood's best interests at heart, as well as several commercial establishments and churches. The first theater in Fort Worth to be built specifically for African Americans, the Grand Theater, opened in 1938 with the newest and best equipment. Though change has occurred through the years, the neighborhood's families have established a tight-knit community bound together by a common history.