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was foreman on the Corn Ranch. M. N. Wallace purchased the "old Benbrook Home" property along
Old Benbrook Road in 1921 and built two rock houses. The M. N. Wallace house at 8216 Old

Benbrook Road was built in 1921. The Frank E. Wallace house is located at 8812 Old Benbrook Road
and constructed in 1923. Frank E. Wallace was co-owner with M.N. Wallace of Benbrook's general
store from 1936 until it was sold in 1941. F. E. Wallace also ran the post office with M. N. Wallace
serving as mail carrier. The N. E. Wallace house at 8216 Old Benbrook Road was torn down in 1986.

The American Legion Paul Mansir Post 297 nearby at 8201 Old Benbrook Road originally was
constructed in 1933 as the Benbrook Church of Christ. The Methodist Church built a new building
from 1929 to 1931, in Greek Revival style, with funding from members and from rancher Cass

Edwards.

Mr. Edwards believed that the Building Committee's original plans were too small. The building had
a sanctuary upstairs, classrooms in the basement, and its own electric light plant. Bishop H. A. Boaz
officiated at the opening with the Reverend Floyd Thrash serving as pastor. The building was later
used by the Benbrook Pentecostal Baptist Church when the Methodists moved to a new location on
Bryant Street in 1957. The Baptists and two other congregations met in a building erected on a one-
acre plot donated by Z Boaz.

WORLD WAR I

Early during the first world war, General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing invited the Royal Canadian
Flying Corps to establish training fields in Texas because of the mild weather. After looking at sites
in Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, Wichita Falls, and Midland, three sites were established in the
Fort Worth vicinity - these sites in North Fort Worth, Everman, and Benbrook became known as the
"Flying Triangle." The Royal Flying Corps used the fields from October 1917 to April 1918; the fields

were then turned over to the U. S. Army. Taliafero Field Number 3 (later renamed Carruthers Field
after Cadet W. K. Carruthers who was killed on June 18, 1917) was located south of Mercedes Street

in what is now the Benbrook Lakeside subdivision. When the U. S. entered the war, the field was
renamed Benbrook Field and served to train American pilots.

The most famous casualty at Benbrook Field was Vernon W. Blyth Castle, part of the famous Vernon
and Irene Castle dance team; the duo was best known for introducing the tango to the United States
in 1913. Captain Castle, recipient of the French Croix de Guerre for his combat missions over
Germany and Commander of the 84th Canadian Training Squad, was killed on February 15, 1918.
Captain Castle's plane crashed while avoiding another airplane that was landing. Captain Castle's
pet monkey and his student both survived the crash; the student's survival is attributed to the fact
that he sat in the seat normally occupied by the instructor. The funeral for Castle was one of the
largest held in Fort Worth and drew international attention. Castle's body was transported to New
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