Page 293 - Benbrook FY2021

1940s

Ed Sproles, head of the Texas Motor Truck Transport Company, constructed the Sproles House to serve as the center of his large cattle ranch.
Most of the house and outbuildings remain; most of the land was submerged by Benbrook Lake in 1947. In contrast to the opulent homes built
during the 1930s, a "Hooverville" shanty town was located in Benbrook in 1933 during the Great Depression.

By 1940, the Benbrook community had grown to approximately one hundred people and three stores. The Benbrook Railroad Station was
closed and torn down during this decade. Benbrook gained a temporary resident in the 1940s; Lee Harvey Oswald began his schooling here
but moved shortly thereafter in 1946. In April 1941, construction began on a bomber plant operated by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Company
(Convair, later named General Dynamics, and then Lockheed Martin); the first B-24 "Liberator" bomber rolled off the assembly line in April
1942. The Tarrant Air Drome (later named Carswell Air Force Base) was established at the same time. In May 1947, the U. S. Corps of
Engineers began construction of Benbrook Dam on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. Authorized by the Rivers and Hazards Act of 1945, the
dam was designed to prevent flooding; major floods occurred in the area in 1922, 1947, and 1949. The May 1949 flood killed ten people
and left over 13,000 people homeless in Fort Worth following ten inches of rain in twelve hours. Benbrook Dam was completed in December
1950 and began impounding water in 1952.

Benbrook's first housing development, the Benbrook Estates subdivision, was platted in 1946; lots were typically 70 feet by 170 feet. On
November 17, 1947 the residents voted 25 to 0 to incorporate as a village. The total area included in the new municipality was 13.3 square
miles. The first mayor was Ed Sproles and the first aldermen included Mrs. Grace Cozby, J. A. Childers, W. J. Nolte, M. N. Wallace, and D. I.
Sessums. Earl Cleveland was elected city marshal-tax collector. One of the first actions (Ordinance Number 2 adopted in August 1948)) was
to create a Planning and

Zoning Commission with the duty to recommend a master plan and zoning ordinance. The first zoning ordinance created a single zoning district
"A" One Family; lots were required to be a minimum of 20,000 square feet and dwellings were required to be a minimum of 1,000 square
feet in size. In 1949 the Benbrook Volunteer Fire Department was organized; Jim Childers served as the first Fire Chief.

The City also began addressing the need for a water supply. Initially homes were supplied by individual water wells. In 1949, the Worth
Water Company was granted a twenty-five year franchise to install and operate a water system to serve Benbrook. The Benbrook Water and
Sewer Authority was created in April 1955 by the Texas Legislature and assumed the assets of the Worth Water Company.

1950s

By 1950, Benbrook had three stores and 617 residents. The Dunlap Addition on Llano Street was platted in 1949. The Benbrook Lakeside
Addition was platted in 1950 with typical lots of 225 feet by 225 feet. These subdivisions reflected the spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright's ideal
subdivision where everyone owned an acre of land. However, to stimulate sales, the subdivision was replatted within a few years to 75 feet

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