Douglass and McGar Parks

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)