City News

Fort Worth Flashback: Many street names honor early statesmen, others

Jennings Street, seen here looking toward the north, was named for an early state attorney general.

Here is a list of well-known Fort Worth streets and how they got their names, according to an Oct. 30, 1949, Fort Worth Star-Telegram article:

Taylor – for Gen. Zachary Taylor, Mexican War hero and U.S. president.
Jones – for Dr. Anson Jones, last president of Texas.
Calhoun – for John C. Calhoun, contemporary of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, a stalwart in early American history.
Houston – for Sam Houston, first president of Texas.
Lamar – for M. B. Lamar, cavalry commander at San Jacinto, president of Texas.
Burnett – for David G. Burnett, Texas president.
Jennings – for Thomas J. Jennings, distinguished lawyer and state attorney general.
Hemphill – for John Hemphill, hero of the Texas War of Independence, chief justice of State Supreme Court, U.S. senator, senator in Confederate Congress.
Lipscomb – for Abner S. Lipscomb, Supreme Court justice in both Texas and Alabama.
Henderson – for James Pinkney Henderson, Texas minister to Great Britain, first governor of Texas, U.S. senator, Mexican War hero.
Throckmorton – for James W. Throckmorton, Confederate officer, governor and congressman.
Monroe – for President James Monroe.
Roberts – for Gov. Oran M. Roberts who, as a district judge, presided at the first session of court in Fort Worth in 1850.
Weatherford –in the early days it was the road to Weatherford.
Belknap – the road to Fort Belknap.
Hattie, Leuda, Henrietta, Ruth, Annie – for the wife and daughters of Col. G. F. Alford, an early real estate promoter. Hattie and Leuda originally were Hallie and Linda but were corrupted through the years.

The Fort Worth Library has approximately 10,000 items pertaining to the history of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. These items include city and county government documents, newspapers, directories, cemetery association records, maps as well as popular and scholarly books written by local authors or about local subjects. To learn more, call 817-392-7740 or email the Genealogy, History and Archives Section.