Tag Archives: historictexas

Parades

Mugg & Dryden Ice, Coal and Wood Company with their Labor Day parade entry (1897)

1897 Photo Credits: Fort Worth Library and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, Special Collections University of Texas at Arlington

The parade route lines up in front of the old Fort Worth jail (built 1884) that was located behind the Tarrant County Courthouse. The Labor Day parade is headed east down the 100 block of Belknap Street past the Tarrant County Jail. “John A. Mugg, Jr. is seated on the left in the 1st buggy; his son M.E. Mugg is the small boy in the wagon. John A. Mugg, Jr. was grandson of Archibald Franklin Leonard and Mary Ann Foster Leonard.”

Two interesting points about this photo. One is that the Mugg family pictured here (my third cousins 3x removed) are the grandchildren of Archibald Franklin Leonard. In 1849 Leonard and Henry Clay Daggett (1 of 3 Fort Worth Daggett brothers) became partners in a business of great historical significance. They built a log cabin under a big live oak tree a mile northeast of the original fort (Fort Worth) and opened Fort Worth’s first business: a trading post. That big live oak lives on today in Traders Oak Park on Samuels Avenue.

Trader Oak Park on Samuel Avenue

Second interesting point: We see the first Tarrant County Jail pictured at 100 Belknap. This first permanent jail was built in 1884, directly behind the County Courthouse on Belknap Street (north of the Courthouse). The new County Jail was a magnificent structure, the building was three stories high plus a basement, constructed of brick in a “Victorian” style. The interior doors of the building were steel, the windows and cells had steel bars. The wooden exterior doors had large steel plate coverings. An underground tunnel connected the County Jail and the Courthouse basements, and was used to take prisoners to trial without exposing them to the public or an unsecured area.

Tarrant County Courthouse (right) with old city Jail located behind it off the then Belknap Street.

Take some time out today to step into the past. Visit Turner Oaks Park on Samuels Ave. Sit a spell under the old oak tree and imagine the conversations of sell or trade with the boys at the Fort. Then enjoy a drive behind the courthouse and picture the old jail sitting there and the Mugg family lined up for the 1897 Labor Day parade.

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Fort Worth Businesses, Stock Show and Rodeo, Street Photographers

Fort Worth Street Photographers/Nobby Harness Co.

Finding old photos taken by Fort Worth street photographers capturing everyday life experiences downtown are fascinating. A photographer would grab a candid shot of you, give you a ticket that you could later take to their shop to buy your picture. These street photos give a great glimpse of the way things were, from the way folks dressed, the family or friends they traveled with to shop, or the great storefronts of the time. However, it can leave one wondering about stores gone by that are captured in the background. We posted this shot a few years ago but it only recently did our friend Mary give us details on her memories of the Nobby Harness shop at the 300 block of Main St. and it’s worthy of a share.
“I remember Nobby Harness Company in downtown Fort Worth. I loved and rode horses in the 50s and 60s. My Papa would take me to Nobby Harness to buy a bridle or to repair a saddle. The wonderful smell of leather permeated the place. I remember an old cast iron stove for warmth in the winter. There was also a taxidermy display of a two-headed calf. Going to Nobby Harness shop is a fond memory for me.”
Wow! How well do you think a saddle shop would do downtown today? Before you answer, I happen to know Fort Worth holds the largest all-horse parade downtown yearly, going on 130 years now, as they welcome the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo to town. The streets fill with over 2,000 horses!
Hmm? I get it now! Giddy up!