Fort Worth Flagpole Replica - Tarrant County, TX
Posted by: 
QuesterMark
N 32° 45.464 W 097° 19.955
14S E 656196 N 3625659
This odd looking flagpole on the east lawn of the historic Tarrant County Courthouse is a replice of the one built in 1849 for the frontier fort that was here.
Waymark Code: WM7FY0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/20/2009
Views: 12
"When cabinet maker Abe Harris was commissioned by the U.S. Army to erect a flagpole for a new frontier fort here in 1849, about the only materials he could find on the prairie were the cottonwood trees in the Trinity River bottom."
--from an AP story by Mike Finger, published Sunday June 6, 1999.
A little east of the center of the parade ground, "stood the flagstaff which Abe Harris had made by joining two of the tallest cottonwoods he could find with an iron band. This flagpole stood where today, on the Tarrant County Criminal Courts Building grounds, stands a granite monument marking the site of this military post."
-from "Fort Worth: A Frontier Triumph", by Julia Kathryn Garrett
The replica flagpole was dedicated Saturday June 5, 1999, 150 years less a day after the founding of the city as a military fort. The AP story has more info as well. Steve King, a Tarrant County probate judge and local historian was quoted as saying that travelers to the fort often said that the flagpole was the first thing they saw of the fort as they approached.
This replica pole is made with treated pine poles instead of cottonwood, but the style and construction is almost identical to the original. King had retrieved the plans from the Army archives. Like the original, the replica is 42 feet tall. The original pole was only in place for four years, as the fort was only in service for four years.
Where is original located?: Lost to history
Where is this replica located?: East Lawn of Tarrant County Courthouse in Fort Worth, TX
Who created the original?: cabinet maker Abe Harris on commission from the U. S. Army
Year Original was Created (approx. ok): 1849
Internet Link about Original: Not listed
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