Rivercrest and Northcrest

HISTORY

The River Crest area lies three miles west of the Fort Worth Central Business District. It is included in the Elizabeth Crockett Survey in 1859 and the Isaac Schoonover and George Kinder Surveys in 1857. The area includes the several blocks surrounding the River Crest Country Club and Golf Course.

The earliest settlers on the land were the Kinders, who came to the area from the mountains of Tennessee and built a home near present-day River Crest Country Club in the late 1880's. The folklore of the area says that early settlers used to forecast rain by watching the Kinder house. If it was struck by lightning, then rain was sure to come.

The River Crest addition began in 1911 when the River Crest Company, led by John W. Broad, David T. Bomar and Morris T. Berney, purchased 640 acres north of Arlington Heights. The company planned an exclusive residential community built around a country club and golf course.

The first River Crest Country Club house was built in 1911. The developers chose prominent Fort Worth architects Sanguinett and Staats, designers of Thistle Hill for W. T. Waggoner's daughter, Electra, as well as many other prominent Fort Worth structures, to design the building.

Some of the earliest residents River Crest development include: Wesley C. Stripling of Stripling Department Stores and for whom the W. C. Stripling Middle School is named; Morris E. Berney, who was later instrumental in developing portions of Ridglea; Amon Carter Sr., who purchased David T. Bonner's home on Broad Avenue in 1919; and W. T. Waggoner, who built his home on River Crest Road in 1925, moving from the home he had built across the street from his daughter, after Electra and her husband had moved from Thistle Hill.

The growth of Fort Worth before World War I tended to be toward the south, where street car lines extended to the new Texas Christian University campus and paved streets attracted home buyers. West side growth drastically changed after World War I began and Camp Bowie opened on the 1,410 acres in Arlington Heights. The division headquarters was located near River Crest Country Club.

In 1917 and 1918, oil fields were discovered in northwest Texas. Leading oil men built their homes in River Crest while oil field workers were settling in Arlington Heights. During the 1920's and 30's, men with fortunes in cattle, banking, real estate, mercantile interests as well as oil, built their homes in the River Crest neighborhood.

River Crest Country Club is now in its third building, the other two having burned down. Perhaps lightning is still attracted to the old Kinder place.
In 1915, J. S. Scharbauer owned much of the land in what is now the Northcrest neighborhood, the area between River Crest and Westover Hills. The land passed through several hands until it was bought in 1949 by O. P. Leonard of Leonard Bros. fame. He platted it in 1959 as Westover Hills East, renaming it in 1961 as Northcrest.

NEIGHBORHOOD DESCRIPTION

River Crest is built around a country club and golf course. The streets are tree shaded and quiet and have sidewalks. Two story houses predominate and many have basements. Styles of architecture range from wood framed Prairiesque, stucco Mediterranean to Tudor Revival, and many of the homes have views of the golf course. Thirty-one structures in the River Crest area are listed in the Tarrant County Historic Resources Survey published by the Historic Preservation Council for Tarrant Co.

Northcrest streets slope and curve around the hillside, providing many interesting lots and architecture. The newer homes in this area include ranch and contemporary styles and are custom designed to fit the terrain.

SCHOOLS

Elementary
North Hi Mount, 3801 West 7th St., 377-7280
Mary Louise Phillips, 3020 Bigham, 377-7270

Middle
W.C. Stripling, 2100 Clover Lane, 377-7230
Wm. Monnig, 3136 Bigham, 377-7250

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

OTHER INFORMATION

Nearest Fire Station: 1908 Carlton, 871-6800, emergencies: 911
Nearest Medical Facilities: Osteopathic Center of TX., 1000 Montgomery, 735-3100
Nearest Post Office: 3301 Darcy, 336-7732
Nearest Grocery Shopping: Camp Bowie Blvd.
Nearest Mall: Ridgmar Mall
Nearest Park: Veterans Memorial Park
City Council District Number: 7
School District Number: 7
Voting Precinct Number: 4086

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.