Meadowbrook

HISTORY

Meadowbrook is a large neighborhood running between east Lancaster Ave. on the south and I-30 on the north, from Riverside Drive on the west to Loop 820 on the east. This area encompasses thirteen surveys from 1855 to 1875, including the E.M. Daggett Survey of 1856. Ephram Daggett, one of the early settlers in the area, established a hotel in an abandoned army stable in Camp Worth (later named Fort Worth) after the army moved their encampment to Fort Belknap.

Much of the western part of Meadowbrook was originally part of the Tandy Ranch, which in 1854 was owned by Roger J. Tandy and his brother-in-law, Arch Hall. A small lake on the Tandy Ranch played an important role in a tragedy which befell the Tarrant County Orphan's Home when it caught fire in 1914. The home, built in 1908 at the corner of Lancaster Ave. and Collard, caught fire and while all the 54 children escaped safely, firefighters used water from Tandy Lake to extinguish the burning home. The orphans' home was eventually rebuilt but no longer remains. The lake was drained in 1918 in response to a flu epidemic.

Many of the streets in the area, such as Ben St. and Lewis St., were named for Tandy family members. There was also a Tandy Elementary School, which was built in its present location in 1935, and has recently been remodeled into a retirement center.

Meadowbrook Drive, a central street through the neighborhood, was originally called Barton Avenue, until it was changed in 1926. Another major road in the area is Lancaster Avenue which has also undergone several name changes. An 1876 map describes it as the Old Dallas Road. In 1886 it was named Front Street. Soon after that it was referred to as Texas Street, and finally in 1931 it became Lancaster Avenue in honor of John L. Lancaster, a president of the T & P Railway.

In 1909, E.E. Fosdick purchased acreage in Meadowbrook for the purpose of establishing a country club by Fosdick Lake. Fosdick died after founding the 75 member Inverness Club which later failed. In 1927 the Fort Worth Park Department took over the property and renamed the lake Oakland Lake.

Radio Station WBAP, established in 1921 by Amon Carter with broadcasting facilities in his downtown Star Telegram building, moved into its Meadowbrook location in 1948. That same year Channel 5 began broadcasting as the first television station in Texas. The building occupied by these stations was designed by the same architect who designed many of the early buildings on the Texas Christian University campus. The radio and TV stations have now moved from what was known as "Broadcast Hill" to Arlington.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESCRIPTION

The Meadowbrook area contains a wide variety of home styles nestled among numerous large trees. Along tree-lined Meadowbrook Drive, medium sized craftsman style homes dominate with intermittent two-story gable front-and-wing style designs. There are also many bricked prairie bungalow style homes as well as good examples of Tudor cottage homes. On the eastern edge of Meadowbrook, along the edge of the Meadowbrook Country Club golf course, newer traditional brick homes can be found.

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

The West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association was formed in 1976, to promote the area. The Association sponsors an Annual Home Tour each December to raise funds to help beautify the area. Forty cedar elms were planted to this end. The group also sponsors a spring picnic and fall potluck dinner, a Prairie Trails Tour in April, a Christmas Style Show, Yard of the Month awards and sponsors monthly meetings to address concerns affecting the neighborhood.

Central Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association calls itself "The Heart of the Eastside". It has over 200 member families, sponsors picnics and has a quarterly newsletter.

SCHOOLS

Elementary
Meadowbrook Elementary, 4330 Meadowbrook Drive 817-531-6440
Eastern Hills Elementary (east of Tierney St.), 5917 Shelton 817-496-7490

Middle
Handley Middle School, 2801 Patino Road, 817-496-7450

High School
Eastern Hills High School, 5701 Shelton St., 817-496-7600

WILLIAMS TREW

FORT WORTH REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE

Williams Trew is a Fort Worth real estate brokerage specializing in residential real estate and offering some commercial real estate properties throughout Tarrant, Parker and Johnson Counties and serving the following cities: Aledo, Azle, Arlington, Benbrook, Burleson, Crowley, Fort Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Haltom City, Keller, Kennedale, Mansfield, Mid-Cities, North Richland Hills and Watauga.