Douglass and McGar Parks
Historical marker location:From the late 1800's, through the 1920's, during a time of Jim Crow
segregation, Douglass and McGar parks served as recreational grounds for
African Americans in Fort Worth. In 1895 Thomas Mason, an African-American
entrepreneur, with J.D. Johnson and A. Sumlin, purchased land in the Trinity
River Bottoms. The property soon became known as Douglass Park (about 300 yards
south), named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass. That same year, the Park
hosted a Juneteenth Celebration; this became an annual event that thousands
attended. The city commissioned a special officer to patrol Douglass Park. Many
noted black churches used the property, as did the Prince Hall Masons, who
built a lodge on it. In 1918, Fort Worth's Park Board purchased Douglass park;
despite an attempt to revitalize the park, it fell into disrepair and in 1925,
the Texas Electric Service Company purchased the property and oficially closed
it.
Douglass Park led directly to the creation of another African-American Park.
Crowds who gathered at Douglass Park to watch Negro baseball teams play became
so large that the games moved to the Texas & Pacific Ballpark, which sat on a
railroad right of way across) North Main Street. The ballpark was upgraded
between 1907 and 1909 and changed names to McGar Park (McGar's Field), after
businessman Hiram McGar. Both black and white fans came to watch McGar's
wonders (later the Black Panthers) play. Industrial development, the 1922 flood
and other factors led up to the demise of the Park during the 1920's. Today, no
remnant remains of the Parks, though they continue to be remembered as vital
community institutions for Fort Worth African American Americans in the early
20th Century. (2009).