DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the City of Arlington. Now settle in, because this one covers a lot of ground — and I mean that literally. Arlington didn't just appear out of nowhere.
It grew right along the seam where two very different worlds meet — the Blackland Prairie to one side, the Eastern Cross Timbers to the other. The West Fork of the Trinity River and its tributaries thread through the whole area, and one of those streams, Village Creek — also called Caddo Creek — was home to a series of Native American communities long before any town had a name. Now, two events reshaped all of that.
The 1841 Battle of Village Creek, and then two years later, the 1843 Bird's Fort Treaty between the Republic of Texas and ten tribes — the Delaware, Chickasaw, Waco, Tawakoni, Keechi, Caddo, Nadako, Ionie, Biloxi, and Cherokee. That treaty opened the region to pioneer settlement, and the men who led that charge were Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson and Patrick Watson. The land was opening up, and people were movin'.
Then came the railroad, and with railroads come surveyors, and with surveyors come towns. In 1876, the Reverend A. S.
Hayter helped survey the area for a new townsite and rail stop on the Texas and Pacific Railroad. The town that took shape there was named Arlington — named, the marker tells us, for the Virginia home of General Robert E. Lee.
Cotton moved through this place. It became a regional distribution center for the crop, a serious commercial hub in its own right. Incorporation came in 1884, the very year after the town's first newspaper, The World, began publishing.
By the turn of the twentieth century, Arlington had more than a thousand residents supporting several churches and schools. One of those schools was Arlington College — an institution that, through the years, would eventually become the University of Texas at Arlington in 1967. Not bad for a rail stop on the prairie.
Arlington was also a connector. Sitting right between Fort Worth and Dallas, it served as an interurban rail hub and a stop along the Bankhead Highway. In 1949, residents adopted a city manager form of government — a deliberate, forward-looking choice for how they wanted to run their city.
Now here's where the story gets a little color to it. Starting in the 1920s, Arlington became a statewide destination for amusements — and I do mean amusements. There was gambling at Top O' Hill Terrace, and horseracing at Arlington Downs, the track owned by W.
T. Waggoner. That's the kind of reputation that travels.
Later came Six Flags Over Texas, the amusement park established in 1961. And then the Texas Rangers baseball team took up residence. One destination layered on top of another, decade after decade.
Today, Arlington remains a viable part of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the entire nation — sitting right there in the seam between two worlds, exactly like it always has. Some cities chase a destiny. Arlington just kept showin' up for it.
What the marker says
The city of Arlington developed along the juncture of two distinct ecological regions, the Blackland Prairie and the Eastern Cross Timbers. The West Fork of the Trinity River and its area tributaries flow through the city, and one such stream, Village (Caddo) Creek, was the site of a series of Native American communities. The 1841 Battle of Village Creek and the 1843 Bird's Fort Treaty between the Republic of Texas and the Delaware, Chickasaw, Waco, Tawakoni, Keechi, Caddo, Nadako, Ionie, Biloxi and Cherokee tribes opened the region to pioneer settlement, led by Col. Middleton Tate Johnson and Patrick Watson. In 1876, the Rev. A. S. Hayter helped survey the area for a new townsite and rail stop for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Named Arlington for the Virginia home of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the town became a regional cotton distribution center. Incorporation occurred in 1884, the year after its first newspaper, The World, was first published. At the turn of the 20th century, the city's more than 1,000 residents supported several churches and schools, including Arlington College, an institution that became the University of Texas at Arlington in 1967. Arlington residents adopted a city manager form of government in 1949. The municipality, situated between Fort Worth and Dallas, served as an interurban rail hub and as a stop along the Bankhead Highway. It became a statewide destination for amusements beginning in the 1920s with gambling at Top O' Hill Terrace and horseracing at W.T. Waggoner's Arlington Downs. Later attractions included Six Flags Over Texas amusement park, established in 1961, and the Texas Rangers baseball team. Today, Arlington remains a viable part of one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. (2006)