Come visit Knapp Heritage Park on Saturday, September 28th, and help us celebrate the park's 20th anniversary! Enjoy activities, demonstrations, vendors, entertainment, tours, food, and more! This event is free and open to the public.

Whether you're a regular or have never visited, this event will be a great opportunity to celebrate an important part of Arlington's rich history. Dedicated in 2004, Knapp Heritage Park is a unique place in our community. It offers the opportunity to visit some of Arlington's oldest structures and experience pioneer life. With its landscaped grounds and rustic green space, Knapp combines history and community spirit in the heart of Downtown Arlington. The 20th Anniversary is a special milestone for us!

What: Knapp Heritage Park 20th Anniversary
When: Saturday September 28, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Where: Knapp Heritage Park, 201 W. Front St., Downtown Arlington

Interested in being a vendor? Artists, artisans, and other vendors who want to sell handmade items or crafts are welcome. Spots are $40.00 each—contact us by phone at (817) 460-4001 or by email at fielderh@swbell.net for more info.

There are several ways you can support the Arlington Historical Society this year via our current North Texas Giving Day Campaign from 9/1/24 through 9/19/24—by making a contribution online, dropping by the Fielder Museum in person, or via mail. We are hoping to make this the easiest North Texas Giving Day Campaign for everyone this year!

To donate online, click HERE. You can contribute via credit card, PayPal, Venmo, or Google Pay. No tips are necessary! (To not tip, override the option by selecting "other" and inserting "0".)

You are also most welcome to come by in person and enjoy our current exhibit, "The Seashores opf Ancient Arlington: A Rich Fossil Record" during your visit.

Arlington Historical Society
at the Fielder Museum
1616 W. Abram Street
Arlington, TX 76013
Phone: (817) 460-4001

Your support benefits the Arlington Historical Society and our venues—the Fielder Museum, Knapp Heritage Park, and the Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds. Please share with your family members and friends. Come visit us!

Our gratitude for your support is beyond measure!

Texas was a very different place 95 million years ago. Dinosaurs and crocodiles dominated a lush seacoast, and the place that would become Arlington sat in a swampy delta lowland where a rich menagerie of marine, amphibious, and land animals lived, interacted, and died. Nowhere has this fossil record been better preserved than at the Arlington Archosaur Site. Discovered in the early 2000s, this site has provided us an unparalleled glimpse into life here during the mid-Cretaceous geologic period.

Join us at the Fielder Museum to look back at a prehistoric era when a great inland seaway divided North America into two separate continents and the place where we live today was uniquely positioned to capture a rare and revealing snapshot of that time.

The Seashores of Ancient Arlington: A Rich Fossil Record will open July 21 and run through the end of September at the Fielder Museum. The exhibit will feature regional fossil displays along with a series of special presentations illustrating rich paleontological discoveries that have been made—and will be made—in the ground beneath us.

What: The Seashores of Ancient Arlington: A Rich Fossil Record
When: Daily through Thursday October 31 (Closed Sundays)
Where: Fielder Museum, 1616 W. Abram St., Arlington, TX 76013

NOTE: We encourage and welcome both adult and student groups to attend. For groups of six or more, please call ahead to ensure we have a docent on hand to narrate the exhibit and answer any questions your group may have. — (817) 460-4001

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Allan Saxe, a beloved University of Texas at Arlington professor and prolific philanthropist, died at age 85 on June 18, 2024, the university announced.

"For nearly six decades, Allan Saxe has been a Maverick institution—one of our best known and most beloved professors," UT Arlington president Jennifer Cowley said in a statement. "He was engaging, smart, funny, and opinionated, and his classes were considered can't miss by generations of UT Arlington students."...  READ ARTICLE

The late-winter rains of 1885 had been heavy, and on March 15 rain continued to fall, putting Village Creek between Fort Worth and Arlington in a mood: out of its banks, running high, wide, and ruthless. A seventy-foot wooden bridge carried the Texas & Pacific railroad tracks over Village Creek. The bridge had been hastily built in 1876 in the rush to lay track west from Eagle Ford in Dallas County to Fort Worth. Writer Tom Marlin wrote in the Handley Herald in 2006 that although the bridge was only nine years old in 1885, it already needed to be repaired. Its unsafe condition had been reported to the railroad company by snipes...  READ ARTICLE

General Motors announced the acquisition of 255 acres for a potential future manufacturing or assembly operation in August 1951. It wasn't clear at the time if the site was envisioned for an automobile or defense-related operation, but at the groundbreaking ceremony on May 27, 1952, the plant was touted as GM's first dual-purpose plant, designed to be capable of producing military equipment, civilian automobiles, or a combination of both. Plans for aircraft production were abandoned in October 1952 and the plant...  READ ARTICLE

Geraldine Mills earlier in May received the prestigious World Changer Award from Arlington Baptist College, presented by Arlington Baptist President Clifton McDaniel. The award recognized Mills' consistent support of historical research at the university as the original site of the Top O' Hill Casino, which for many years made Arlington a highly successful (and illegal) gambling mecca in the South. (Photo by O.K. Carter)

Step through the gate of Knapp Heritage Park in downtown Arlington, and — if it’s your lucky day — you’ll be greeted by Nancy Tice and transported to another time, another way of life. An 1800s Texas pioneer way of life...  READ ARTICLE

When it first opened as the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike in 1957, it brought hopes of bringing cooperation between Dallas and Fort Worth, cities which had historically been rivals and oftentimes enemies. While Dallas and Fort Worth still maintained some rivalry in 2001, there was one thing everyone...  READ ARTICLE

A group of young students who recently visited the Fielder Museum and Knapp Heritage Park produced sketches of their impressions. Their wisdom, insight, and even humor serve to illustrate how young imaginations are fired by exposure to history and historical places. View or download the PDF linked below to view their artwork and read their reflections — and enjoy!