HISTORY
The Tanglewood neighborhood consists
of land in the low areas along the branch of the Trinity River
and is approximately five miles southwest from the Fort Worth
Central Business District.
The Tanglewood area lies within
two surveys. The western part of the addition being part of the
1854 Felix G. Beasley Survey, and the eastern part, along the
branch of the river, the 1876 James Howard Survey.
Lemuel J. Edwards owned some
land west of these surveys in 1846, and later bought most of
the present Tanglewood area which was known as the "Edwards
Ranch" until it was sold by the Edwards family for development.
Lemuel Edward's son, Cass Overton
Edwards, was born on the ranch in 1851. In 1868, he was given
500 head of cattle which he drove to Tahoka, an area just south
of Lubbock, Texas, to establish the T-Bar Ranch. Cass Overton
Edwards and later his children, Cass Edwards and Crawford Edwards,
continued ranching in Tarrant County with extensive land holdings
extending almost to the Central Business District. They sold
a portion of the land in 1913 to the city of Fort Worth which
later became Trinity and Forest Parks.
The original approach to the
Tanglewood area consisted of a two-rut dirt road which is now
Bellaire Drive South. Up to the time of development, children
enjoyed swimming in the river in a deep hole which was located
where the bridge is now on Bellaire Drive South near the Tanglewood
Center. The Edwards ranch houses were located along the dirt
road off of what is now Hulen Street and the Edwards still live
there today. An area was designated as the Edwards Ranch School
Site which is now where Tanglewood Elementary School is located.
The portions of Tanglewood which are now Bellaire Park Court, Marquette Court and Autumn Court were originally a dairy farm which the owner had purchased from the Edwards. In the early 1930's, the dairy farmer sold four lots on the bluff at the east edge of the property. The Edwards insisted that the deed restrictions on these four lots stipulate that the homes were to face west so the Edwards family would not have to look at back doors. These homes have their back entrances on the lane at the end of Westcliff Road South.
In 1941, Dr. J. M. Lyle purchased the remaining 14 acres of the farm, gradually selling it off for development. The lake in Bellaire Park Court was his stocked tank where he fished and raised Japanese deer in the park-like area.
The Edwards family created the
Cassco Land Company to help sell and develop the land they owned.
Development began in 1955, with most of the Tanglewood property
sold by 1957.
Land use restrictions filed on
the Tanglewood addition stipulate that all houses must be brick
or stone, and have at least a two-car garage attached to the
house. Even though this was ranch property, it also stated that
no cows, horses or other livestock would be allowed on the property
after development.
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