Page 163 - Haltom City FY20 Approved Budget

City of Haltom City Annual Budget, FY 2020 Supplemental Information

CITY OF HALTOM CITY

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Haltom City, whose municipal boundaries include the first Tarrant County seat of Birdville, is
located near the geographic center of the county. Haltom City's land area extends three to six
miles northeast of downtown Fort Worth. It is surrounded on the northwest, west, and south by
Fort Worth city limits; on the east by Richland Hills and North Richland Hills; and on the northeast
by Watauga. It is bisected by Big and Little Fossil Creeks and borders the Trinity River flood plain
on the south. The city is situated in an area which was once rolling grassland.

Established from a ranching and farming community, Haltom Village was founded in 1932 and
named to honor G. W. Haltom (1872-1944), a Fort Worth jeweler whose family ranch holdings
comprised much of the new area. Gradual growth was due in part to Haltom's Meadow Oaks
Corporation and the bisection of the village by major new highways affording easier access to
Fort Worth, northeastern Tarrant County and Dallas. Also in 1932, the routing of State Highways
10 (E. Belknap Street) and 121 one-quarter mile south of the old Birdville business district
presented local business leaders with a momentous decision regarding the future of their
businesses and property investments. Most businesses chose to relocate, in order to take
advantage of greater convenience and accessibility for customers, increased traffic flow, and a
chance to build anew.

Haltom City was originally incorporated on
August 22, 1944. On July 3, 1950 Haltom City
and the City of Oak Knoll consolidated under the
name of Haltom City. Since 1950 the City has
gradually expanded, annexing Garden of Eden,
Meadow Oaks, East Ridge and, in 1955,
unincorporated portions of Birdville. Haltom City
elected Home Rule Charter with a city manager,
mayor and council form of government on
October 10, 1955.

The City purchased the complete water systems
(3,975 customer accounts) serving the entire
City on August 21, 1952 and has provided water and sewer services since that time.

Today the city is traversed by five major roads: State Highway 121-Airport Freeway; State
Highway 183-Northeast 28th Street-Midway Road; U. S. Highway 377-E Belknap Street-Denton
Highway; Loop 452-Grapevine Highway 26; and Northeast Loop 820. The historic name of
Birdville is carried on in the names of two churches, a cemetery, two roads, an independent school
district, and in the memories of its residents.

First encroachment into the Birdville vicinity occurred as early as the spring of 1840, when
Captain Jonathan Bird and 20 three-month service Texas Rangers from Lamar and Red River
Counties were sent into the frontier by General Sam Houston. Their mission was to establish a
fort, make the area safe for settlement, and guard the area from Indian attacks to the north and

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