Texas State Historical Association"He was born on September 16, 1831, in Owen County, Kentucky, to Samuel and Polly (Bond) Smith. Both his parents died in 1844. He chose to live under the guardianship of W. H. Garnett, a cousin.
He graduated Bethany College in Virginia in 1853. After graduation he moved to Texas. In 1854 he obtained an old army hospital. In that building he began the first school in the city. He only held classes for 3 months, but the school was eventually transformed into Male and Female Academy, the first permanent educational facility in Fort Worth.
He began to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1860. When the Civil War broke out he joined the 7th Regiment of the Texas Calvary. He was severely wounded in Louisiana in 1863, and was wounded again in 1864.
Following the war he returned to Fort Worth and by 1865 he owned 1,000 acres of land in Tarrant County. By the 1880s he was reported to be the largest landowner in Fort Worth.
He was a partner in the Fort Worth Street Railway Company, thus establishing the first public inner city transportation system. Additionally, he helped promote the first railroad into Fort Worth-the Texas and Pacific-and donated thousands of dollars to railroad expansion. In 1891 Smith was a key figure in the building of the first stockyard in Fort Worth. Nearly all of the larger cattle companies of northwest Texas were obliged to Smith for their organization, and many young cattlemen were personally indebted to him for his assistance.
Smith was elected mayor of Fort Worth in 1882 and served the first of six terms. Under his guidance, several public services were initiated, including the city's first water department. As a public official he helped establish an independent school system and also served as a trustee on the first school board. In addition to his other accomplishments, Smith was the president of the Fort Worth Gas Light and Coal Company.
Smith donated many acres to the city for improvements, including the land for the Oakwood, Calvary, and Trinity cemeteries and several parks, churches, and hospitals, one of which still carries his name-John Peter Smith Hospital. Smith was a charter member of the Fort Worth Masonic Lodge and a member of the Christian Church."
Smithsonian Art Inventory
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A bust of John Peter Smith with a moustache, wearing a bow tie, vest and jacket. The bust is mounted on a tall, tapered base decorated with a relief of his initials (JPS) on the front."