Monticello

HISTORY

Monticello is located two miles west of the Fort Worth Central Business District and was included in the 1854 Joseph W. Conner Survey. It was called "the subdivision with a personality" when development began in 1928.
Wm. J. Bailey owned the land in 1901. He formed the Monticello Land Co. in 1928, and was assisted by V. P. Guthrie, the developer of the Park Hill neighborhood on the southwest side of Fort Worth, Guthrie served as secretary and treasurer of the Monticello Land Company, and Howard W. Peak was director of sales. Bailey first opened up 125 acres for development with five to six hundred home sites, several parks and smaller "breathing spots." The Elk's Club Lodge on White Settlement Road was formerly the Wm. J. Bailey mansion. The Lodge has now been demolished.

The neighborhood included 160 acres, and homesites were required to be 50 to 150 feet wide, more than 100 feet deep and constructed of brick, stone, stucco or a combination of any of the three. Hare & Hare, a Kansas City landscape firm, drew plans for the area with the assistance of Fort Worth appraiser Brooks Baker.

One of the first home owners in Monticello was Mrs. Ola Rizer who bought a total of four lots for $3,750.

The Wm. E. Harmon Foundation donated $2,000 for playground equipment which was placed on the land the Monticello Land Co. had designated and donated as a city park. The park is now named Harmon Park.

During World War I, Camp Bowie was the training area for the 36th Division of the Texas-Oklahoma National Guards. Most of the camp was in the present day Arlington Heights area, but the infantry division was in what is now Monticello.

The northern boundary of Monticello is White Settlement Road, which began as the east-west stage road between Fort Worth and Yuma, Arizona in the 1850's. The Butterfield Stage departed every day from the front door of the El Paso Hotel in downtown Fort Worth to proceed the 1,560 miles to Yuma.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESCRIPTION

Gently curving streets lined with tall trees wind through Monticello. Large two-story homes dominate some streets, with smaller one story homes on other streets. Styles include Spanish Colonial Revival, Mediterranean-Classical Revival, Tudor Revival and Period Revival, to mention a few. The entrance to Monticello is on West Seventh Street.

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

A very active Monticello Neighborhood Association sponsors Easter Egg Hunts, July 4th Parades, Christmas Caroling, Halloween Parties, beautification of the gates on West 7th St., Crime Watch participation, a quarterly newsletter and tree planting.

SCHOOLS

Elementary
North Hi Mount, 3801 W. 7th St., 337-7280

Middle
W. C. Stripling, 2100 Clover Lane, 377-7230

High School
Arlington Heights, 4501 W. Rosedale, 377-7200

OTHER INFORMATION

Nearest Fire Station: 205 University Drive, 871-6800, emergencies 911
Nearest Medical Facilities: Osteopathic Center of TX, 1000 Montgomery, 731-3100
Nearest Post Office: 3301 Darcy, 336-7732
Nearest Grocery Shopping: W. 7th St., Camp Bowie Blvd.
Nearest Mall: Ridgmar Mall
Nearest Park: Harmon Park, Rockwood Park
City Council District Number: 7
School District Number: 7
Voting Precinct Number: 4116

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.