The 12 oldest buildings in Dallas-Fort Worth

The Dallas-Fort Worth area has nearly 200 years worth of history—and architecture—to draw from. Which early buildings are still intact today?

The 1840s feel like a long time ago. None of us were alive to see Presidents James Polk and John Tyler lead the country through some of its expansion—and if you were, please let us know your timelord secrets—which included the founding of Dallas in 1841 and Fort Worth in 1849. 

Yet, these are two relatively new cities in the grand scheme of things. Neither one is even 200 years old, which is far less than a quarter of the ages of some other cities worldwide. None of the Dallas and Fort Worth buildings are as old as a palace in China or Greece.

That doesn’t mean Dallas-Fort Worth isn’t full of some fascinating places with extensive legends. Here are 12 of the oldest buildings still around today.

1. Hord Log Cabin, the first permanent structure built west of the Trinity River

Judge Wiliam H. Hord came to what’s now the Oak Cliff area of Dallas from Tennessee via covered wagon and built a cabin from hand-hewn logs in 1845. It’s the first structure built in Dallas that still exists today. The building was purchased in 1887 by Oak Cliff developer T.L. Marsalis. In 1942, Martin Weiss and his wife bought the cabin and gave it to American Legion Post No. 275 and Auxiliary, which eventually led to the cabin earning historic landmark status in 1962.

Hord has several impressive Texas milestones, including fighting a battle along the Colorado River on Christmas Day and rising to Dallas County Judge in 1848, serving until 1850. In the 1860s, he became a brigadier general of the Thirteenth District of the Texas Militia and directed the Dallas County Fairs. 

The cabin became a museum in 1976, and visitors can stop by today. It’s a quick trip but still a cool piece of Texas history.

2. Cumberland Hill School, the only remaining 19th-century school in Dallas

Dallas architect A.B. Bristol built Cumberland Hill School in 1888, and the building remains the lone 19th-century school standing in Dallas. The school was known as a “melting pot” that welcomed students of multiple backgrounds. Over the years, the neighborhood went by charming names like Frog Town, Goose Valley, and Little Mexico. The last classes took place in 1958. 

The school became a Registered Texas Historic Landmark in 1971 and a Dallas Landmark in 1988. Though you can’t go inside it, it’s an impressive building to pass by. If you want to pretend what life was like in the school, queue up some ambient noise, close your eyes, and let your imagination run wild.

3. Tarrant County Courthouse, the oldest courthouse in Fort Worth

Construction on the Tarrant County Courthouse took over two years, with the gorgeous pink granite immediately sticking out as a star among the city’s architecture. You might recognize the courthouse’s vibe if you’ve visited the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin since both use pink granite from the same quarry.

Today, the building is doing the same thing it did back in 1895: functioning as a courthouse. Judicial workers keep their office spaces within the Tarrant County Courthouse, and visitors can see the stunning design of the late 19th century.

Tarrant County Courthouse, the oldest courthouse in Fort Worth. (TexasEagle/CC BY-NC 2.0)

4. Hart Furniture, one of the earliest commercial buildings in Dallas

The Italiante-style Hart Furniture building is a rare remnant of the 19th century within the Central Business District. The building was built in 1888, and its longest-lasting tenant was Hart Furniture, which spent 77 years selling furniture to Dallas residents before shuttering in 1991. The building has changed hands a handful of times, including a $1.36 million restoration in 2002.  

If you visit the Hart building today, you can sit on several comfy pieces of furniture. You’d just be doing so while dining at Kitchen + Kocktails, an elegant elevated comfort food restaurant launched in May 2020 by litigation attorney Kevin Kelley. And if you’re in the area, you may as well stop by the Majestic Theater next door. Dinner and a show, plus a bit of history? Sign us up. 

5. The Land Title Building, possibly a haunted gem in Fort Worth

Haggart and Sanguinet of Fort Worth designed the Land Title building, one of the most stunning pieces of architecture in the entire city. With its Victorian and Romanesque Revival Style, the red sandstone bricks and charming decor (like an owl and mockingbird), it seems like a grand spot in a prime location. However, many businesses have come and gone. The building opened as a Land Mortgage Bank and the law offices of Ross, Herd & Ross. It’s also been a diner, jazz club, beerhouse, and a soap opera-themed burger restaurant. These are the days of our lives, indeed.

One of the reasons businesses struggle in this building? It might be haunted. Amber Davidson, general manager of The Bird Cafe, a recent tenant, claimed they “definitely have a haunted bar,” with dozens of customers and employees claiming to see ghosts. Davidson watched wine bottles and glassware seemingly throwing itself off the walls, with handprints showing up in odd places. 

Alongside the Mural Building, the Land Title Building is among the City of Fort Worth Historic & Cultural Landmarks.

The Land Title Building in Fort Worth. (Leonard J. DeFrancisci/CC BY-SA 3.0)

6. Pendery’s, the oldest business in Fort Worth

DeWitt Clinton Pendery arrived in Fort Worth in 1870 by way of Cincinnati, and his waxed handlebar mustache, frock coat, and tall silk hat made him stand out among the local cowboys. As the legend goes, those locals greeted him with a welcome bullet that made his hat spin. His lack of a reaction to being shot at earned him the city’s respect, and soon, Pendery’s was serving spices and seasonings to locals. The Pendery’s building was built in 1910 and was originally used as a restaurant before the spice company took over. 

As Pendery said, “The health-giving properties of hot chile peppers have no equal.” The shop still stands by that motto over a century and a half later. In the shop’s early days, Pendery’s would ship their products via horse-drawn stagecoach. It’s a lot easier to purchase from them online these days, with the Chiltomaline continuing to be one of the company’s top sellers. 

7. M.A. Benton House, Fort Worth’s oldest house

The M.A. Benton House is a Victorian-style gingerbread home built in 1898 by the father of Meredith A. Benton, a tobacco seller who moved into the home with his wife, Ella Belle. The home features unique designs, including an asymmetrical floor plan, a cutaway window, and very thin spindles. Texas artist Sweetie Ladd captured the house in one of her paintings.

Descendants of the Benton family live in the home, which was designated a Texas Historic Landmark in 1981. You might be able to glimpse inside if you’re delivering a package or trying to sell something. But that feels like a lot of effort, so just gaze at the house from the sidewalk and let the family be. Or go visit the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, since Mrs. Benton planted rose beds there as a beautiful legacy.  

M. A. Benton House in Fairmount, Ft. Worth. (Steven Martin/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

8. Ahab Bowen House, one of the oldest homes in Dallas

Ahab Bowen, a “Huckster” (a fancy name for a grocery store owner), moved with his family to Dallas in the 1860s. In 1874, they built a home on Boll Street. At the time, it was in the style of similar folk Victorian homes, designed with cedar clapboard that was once a thriving farm. Bowen and his wife Mary had nine children, with three daughters marrying other grocers. The business truly did run in the family. Tenants believe Mary still haunts the halls of the home. 

The Ahab Bowen building is a rare example of mid-to-late 19th-century architecture, even with a few alterations in 1900 and 1976. Michael Longcrier owned and operated Ahab Bowen’s vintage store for 35 years before retiring in 2011. Dallas restaurateur Mohsen Heidari bought the home in 2012 and handed control to his son, Pasha. Today, the Bowen House is an elegant bar serving traditional classic cocktails. Some nights, the hours are listed as “Until,” a nod to Mary suggesting guests leave her home so she can get a little ghostly sleep.

9. St. Patrick Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in Fort Worth

The first Catholic parish in Fort Worth was St. Stanislaus, built in 1876. Twelve years later, the groundwork began for what would become St. Patrick Cathedral just north of St. Stanislaus, with work completed in 1892. St. Patrick’s became a co-cathedral in 1953, with Pope Pius XII changing the name of the Diocese of Dallas to the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth. Pope Paul VI split that joint diocese into two in 1969, creating the Diocese of Fort Worth. 

St. Patrick Cathedral was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and has continued to grow in size over the years. It’s currently the mother church of a diocese of 91 parishes across nearly 24,000 square feet, serving over 1.2 million Catholics. You can visit the cathedral or attend a mass during certain hours. And if you’re especially astute, you might recognize a scene shot inside the cathedral from the 1990 film “Problem Child.”

St. Patrick Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in Fort Worth. (Farragutful/CC BY-SA 4.0)

10. F.A. Brown Farmstead, Dallas’s oldest unaltered farmhouse

The classic saying is everything’s bigger in Texas, which rings true for 1800s farmhouses, too. The home was built by Francis Asbury Brown around 1880. It features a wooden frame, two stories and five bays, larger than other farmhouses of the time. Brown and his son used the land as a dairy farm until Brown’s death in 1922. 

At that point, the family sold much of the farmland. However, they continued to own the home all the way until 1985 before turning it over to the Historic Preservation League. It’s been a Dallas Landmark since 1987 and is available to the public for viewing.

11. Texas Schoolbook Depository, the site of the JFK assassination

The Texas Schoolbook Depository in Dealey Plaza first started keeping textbooks in 1961; two years later, Lee Harvey Oswald used the sixth floor of the building to shoot at President John F. Kennedy during a parade. The building was built in 1903, serving as the headquarters for the Rock Island Plow Company. At one point, John Neely Bryan owned the land where the building stands today; he’s often referred to as the founder of Dallas.

Currently, the Texas Schoolbook Depository has become the Dallas County Administration Building. It’s home to The Sixth Floor Museum, where guests can learn more about the president and the events surrounding the fateful November day. Once you leave the Texas Schoolbook Depository, be sure to walk around the city’s West End, where a number of stunning buildings have been restored since the early 1900s.

Exterior of Texas Schoolbook Depository, the site of the JFK assassination. (Brent Moore/CC BY-NC 2.0)

12. Steel’s Tavern, the first public house in Fort Worth

In 1849, the same year Fort Worth was officially founded as a city, soldiers constructed a military post, a small grouping of live oak trees known as Steel’s Grove. It’s the oldest historical site in the city. The name comes from Lawrence Steel, a settler who took over the adjoining horse stables and opened Steel’s Tavern in 1853. Steel’s Tavern was the city’s first hotel and stagecoach office, with a bell that Steel would ring to announce when stagecoaches left or arrived. 

The stage shop moved to the El Paso Hotel on Main Street, and Steel sold his tavern to Albert Andrews, who promptly renamed it after himself. The railroad’s arrival changed the hotel’s name to the Transcontinental Hotel. Even after several businesses, an open-air market, and multiple jails and judiciary buildings (including the present-day Criminal Courts building), three of the oak trees continue breezing in the wind.

Those oaks are now over 175 years old. While you probably don’t consider trees a building, you can still admire their beauty while taking in a moment of peaceful bliss. And that’s what the best historical sites are all about.   

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.