Hello Friday. March 29 2024 Hey Fort Worth, we’re signing off for a few days for Thanksgiving. Don’t fret, we’ll be back in your inbox at 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Until then, know that you and the rest of our FTWtoday readers are some of the many folks we’ll be giving thanks for this holiday season. Have a happy Thanksgiving! While several cities across the country adopted the nickname Hell’s Half Acre, Fort Worth made it infamous — and it all started on the last stop of the Chisholm Trail.
Hop into our western time machine + travel with us back to the 1870s where crime and violence ruled our city center. In the beginning It’s not clear where the nickname Hell’s Half Acre came from, but it first appeared in a Fort Worth newspaper in 1874, after the red light district was already established.
If you dared to venture into the lawless territory you could encounter gunmen, robbers, card sharks + a variety of other criminal activities. As the city’s notoriety grew, so did The Acre.
Location, location, location Hell’s Half Acre was originally at the lower end of Rusk Street (now Commerce Street) and began to spread in all directions covering four main thoroughfares — Main, Rusk, Calhoun + Jones. It eventually sprawled across the city from Seventh to Fifteenth Streets. Change is in the air By 1889, there were several factors fueling major change + reform in the acre, including the shooting death of City Marshal Timothy Courtright, the gruesome murder of a prostitute, the first prohibition campaign in Texas, urban growth + the decline in popularity and profitability with out of town guests.
The end of an era In the early 1900s community leaders like pastors, religious groups + city officials combined forces to reduce crime and violence in The Acre.
Once the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, many young men left the area to fight. Eventually a new more refined Fort Worth appeared and Hell’s Half Acre became a distant memory.
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TCU will host the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Wed., Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.
The bowl game honors + recognizes the sacrifices made by our military personnel on the battlefield.
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