366 Smithfield UM Church, North Richland Hills, TX
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txoilgas
N 32° 52.104 W 097° 12.749
14S E 667241 N 3638114
Quick Description: As a Christian community in the United Methodist tradition, we at Smithfield see "making disciples for Jesus Christ" as our primary purpose.
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 9/30/2009 1:32:50 PM
Waymark Code: WM7BC8
Views: 0
Long Description:
SMITHFIELD, TEXAS. Smithfield, in north central Tarrant County, was
probably established before 1870 and was originally called Zion. A
post office opened there in 1878. In 1887 the St. Louis and
Southwestern Railway built through the area a quarter mile south of
Zion, and a new section of the community grew up near the tracks.
This new development siphoned away population and businesses from
the older section, which eventually was abandoned. The new railroad
settlement was called Smithfield, for Eli Smith, who had donated
land for a church and cemetery in Zion. Smithfield initially
flourished as a shipping point for the products of area farms and
ranches. Though the town suffered a bad fire in 1890, by 1900 it
had a population of 137, and the local school employed three
teachers and enrolled 156 students from the area. The population of
Smithfield remained at about the same level through the 1930s, but
it began to grow around World War II because of the boom in
war-related employment in nearby Fort Worth. By the late 1940s
Smithfield reported 350 residents and eight businesses. After a
bitterly contested campaign and election, however, nearby North
Richland Hills annexed Smithfield in 1958. The Smithfield name
survives in several local institutions, including a middle school,
and on historical markers at the Smithfield cemetery, Masonic
lodge, and two churches.
Type of marker: Numbered
UMC Historic Site #: 366
Your link to the UMC page where your waymark is cited.: [Web Link]
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