DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Niles City, out in Tarrant County. Now, you've heard towns brag before — every little crossroads thinks it's something special — but Niles had a nickname that put the rest of them to shame. They called it the Richest Little Town in the World.
And friend, they weren't just talkin'. Incorporated in 1911, the City of Niles packed into just one and a half square miles some of the heaviest industry in all of Texas. We're talkin' major meat packing firms, the Fort Worth Stockyards, two grain elevators, a cotton seed oil company, and a petroleum refinery and pipeline plant all sitting inside that tiny footprint.
By the early 1920s, the taxable property in Niles was valued at thirty million dollars. Thirty. Million.
Dollars. For a town you could walk across before lunch. Now, behind all that industry stood one man's decision made decades before.
Louville Veranus Niles — born in 1839, lived all the way to 1928 — was a successful Boston businessman who first set eyes on Fort Worth in 1893. In 1899, his reorganization of the Fort Worth Packing Company set something in motion. The firms of Swift and Armour took notice, and by 1902 they had located their plants in the area, rapidly increasing nearby business development.
The town that grew up around all that activity took his name. With revenues pouring in, Niles ran itself like a proper city. A Mayor and five Aldermen oversaw improvements in roads, utilities, and city services.
Two school districts served the town, and both benefited from that enormous tax base. It was, by any measure, a progressive community — small in size, enormous in means. But here's the thing about being the richest little town in the world sitting right next door to a big, hungry city.
Fort Worth had its eye on Niles. Legal efforts to remain incorporated and avoid annexation began in 1921, and Niles fought — but in 1923, the city became part of Fort Worth. The Richest Little Town in the World didn't lose its wealth.
It just lost its name.
What the marker says
Incorporated in 1911, the City of Niles was called the "Richest Little Town in the World" because of its size and the number of large businesses located here. Included in the townsite, which eventually covered 1.5 square miles, were major meat packing firms, the Fort Worth Stockyards, two grain elevators, a cotton seed oil company, and a petroleum refinery and pipeline plant. By the early 1920s the town's taxable property was valued at $30,000,000. Niles was named for Louville Veranus Niles (1839-1928), a successful Boston businessman who first visited Fort Worth in 1893. His reorganization of the Fort Worth Packing Company in 1899 led the firms of Swift and Armour to locate their plants in this area in 1902, rapidly increasing nearby business development. Substantial muncipal tax revenues helped make the city of Niles a progressive community. Under the supervision of a Mayor and five Aldermen, funds were used for improvements in roads, utilities,and city services. The two school districts which served the town also benefited from the large tax base. Despite legal efforts beginning in 1921 to remain incorporated and avoid annexation, the City of Niles became part of Fort Worth in 1923. (1981)