Pioneer Settlers

Over 100 years ago the area in our neighborhood was surrounded by large trees, farms and ranches and was located in a town called Birdville in Central Tarrant County. Birdville was the first settlement in the county. It was a functioning settlement by 1848 and its earliest residents were farmers and cattle ranchers. Major Cheney, was an heir to 300 plus acres of land that was granted to the Cheney pioneer settlers, who were recipients of land granted by the Republic of Texas while Governor Pease was in office. The Cheney/Sanders family has been a resident on the property since 1860. Major Cheney married into another Tarrant County pioneer family, the Loyd’s who owned large tracts of land nearby. He married Malinda Loyd in 1881. In January 2005, the neighborhood was designated as a historic and cultural landmark district, the first African American historic and cultural landmark district in Tarrant County.

Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden Neighborhood Association was registered with the City of Fort Worth in May, 2004, to promote, preserve and enhance the quality of life and values in the Garden of Eden and Joe Louis Addition neighborhoods. The history of the Garden of Eden began over 100 years ago. It sits in the middle of Fort Worth and Haltom City down in the valley. On a clear day when you are stopped at the railroad track on Carson Street (to allow the TRE to pass), you can see the downtown Fort Worth skyline. The community is located 5 minutes from downtown, 15 minutes from the DFW Airport and 30 minutes from Dallas. What a great place to be! The Garden of Eden NA meets quarterly on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 P.M. Our current meeting place is located at 1412 Carson Street, Fort Worth, TX 76117 which is just south of SH 121.
Our organization is located in Neighborhood Policing District #1, City Council District #4 and in the Eastside Planning Sector.
Although this organization is new to the League of Neighborhood Associations, it has participated in several city-wide meetings.
The Garden of Eden NA has several projects in the works of which some have been completed, such as the voter registration drive, used cell phone drive for victims of domestic violence, web site creation, infrastructure repairs, environmental causes and creating their first newsletter!
The NA has formed a non profit organization entitled the Carson Street Historic Preservation Group. There is an aggressive developmental plan underway with short and long range projects which include forming business alliances with local government agencies, local and national corporations, developing residential properties including the local church, building a museum which will include a library and art gallery and the rebuilding major thoroughfares.

Major Cheney, Pioneer Settler

The land on the Cheney Ranch (as it was sometimes called) was farmed and harvested for the family’s use and for the marketing of cotton, packaged shelled pecans, cords of wood, home made butter, peas, corn, tomatoes, watermelons, peaches, pears, plums, spinach and other greens. The crop was sold at area farmer’s markets in Fort Worth and Birdville. In addition to farming, cattle was raised and later sold at Hodge Station, which was an extension of the Fort Worth Stockyards. Ranch hands were hired to assist with the ranching and farming duties. Major Cheney provided housing for the hired hands. During the early 1900’s Major Cheney and his wife Malinda leased land to Fort Worth Sand & Gravel, Inc. for the purpose of mining gravel.
Major Cheney, a farmer, owned hundreds of acres of land in Tarrant County during the late 1800’s and the 1900’s. His property was bordered by Carson Street to the east to the fork of the Trinity River near Handley Ederville Road. On December 1, 1891, he donated one-half acre (105’X105’) at the N.W. corner of his land for a site for a school for blacks. (Birdville Colored School) . The trustees were Oscar Lloyd and Ed Boaz. The black school closed in 1906, but the land was not returned by the County until 1938. His grandson, James M. Sanders, Sr. requested the return of the land. The teachers transferred to the Fort Worth public schools.

Email us:
bsanders5539@hotmail.com