William McDonald Park is located in southeast Fort Worth and is bordered on the east by I-820. Land for the park was acquired in 1981. Improvements over the years have included playground renovations in 2003 with funding from the U.S. Department of Interior Urban Park and Recreation Recovery grant funds and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Community Development Block Grant funds.
William (“Gooseneck Bill") McDonald, whose father was a slave and his mother a free woman, was born in College Mound, Texas in 1866. McDonald's grandfather was a full blood Choctaw Indian and William was considered to a responsible cowboy at age 12. College educated, McDonald rose to a leadership position in the state’s Republican Party as a member of the “Black and Tan” coalition. Following his move to Fort Worth, he founded the Fraternal Bank and Trust Company with the assistance of black fraternal lodges. The bank became the primary depository for these lodges as well as Fort Worth’s African American community and survived through the Great Depression. McDonald’s Neoclassical mansion on East Terrell was a neighborhood landmark for many years. McDonald had numerous business interests, was known as Fort Worth's first black millionaire and remained active in state and national politics. He died on July 5, 1950 and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.
View animal, plant and insect species observed at William McDonald Park and make some of your own observations through iNaturalist. See link under the "Related information" Section.
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5400 Eastland Street, Fort Worth 76119 View Map
5400 Eastland Street , Fort Worth 76119
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