Gary William and Floreen Barger Henry Collection

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Gary W. and Floreen Barger Henry grew up near each other in the Riverside area of Fort Worth. Floreen lived a block away from Riverside Elementary School (nonextant) at 523 N. Riverside Dr. and attended the elementary school, Riverside Junior High School, and Amon Carter Riverside High School. Gary attended the junior high and high school and was in the same grade as Floreen. After graduating, they both earned degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington.

The house located at 523 N. Riverside Dr. is in the McAdams Addition of the Atkin McLemore Survey. It was originally owned by Floreen’s step-grandfather and grandmother, W. A. and Velma Smith. They built the house after they moved with Velma’s daughter, Jurhee Barger, from Long Beach, California to Fort Worth at the end of WWII. In California, the Smiths worked for Douglas Aircraft Company then transferred to Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft (Convair) in Fort Worth. They owned the property until Barger purchased it from them in 1957.

HISTORICAL NOTE

Riverside Elementary School was in the 400-450 block of N. Riverside Dr. on the east side of the street. It was a large two-story building on a campus that included tennis courts. The structure replaced a 1907 school building that was destroyed by a fire in 1918. The school initially served all grade levels but discontinued upper-level grades in 1922 when Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) took over Riverside ISD. The neighborhood's junior high and high school students attended other Fort Worth schools until 1935 when Riverside High School was built. The new high school was established with the support of school board member George B. Eagle, from the prominent Eagle family. Riverside High School, now Amon Carter Riverside High School, served seventh through twelfth grades until Riverside Junior High was built in 1950. The junior high school, located at 1600 Bolton St., and high school, located at 3301 Yucca Ave., are still open, but the elementary school closed in 1976 and was demolished in 1981.

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Gary W. and Floreen Barger Henry Collection contains materials from their academic history, property records and materials related to the Riverside neighborhood, and other items concerning general Fort Worth history. The materials are dated 1923 to 2012. The property records and most of the materials from Riverside schools belonged to the donors and Floreen’s mother, Jurhee Barger. The 1937 and 1940 Riverside High School yearbooks were purchased by the donors because of their significance. The 1937 yearbook is from the school's first year of operation and few were published. The 1940 yearbook is embossed with George B. Eagle, Sr.’s name on the cover. 

Materials in this collection consist of the following:

Photographs

• Mr. Hurley, principal, and Mr. Bryant, vice-principal, standing outside of Riverside Elementary School, Fort Worth, Texas, 1960
• Riverside Elementary School, exterior, Fort Worth, Texas, 1960
• View from the north of Riverside Elementary School taken from 523 N. Riverside Drive, Fort Worth, Texas, 1963

Programs

• The Commissioning of USS Fort Worth, September 22, 2012

Publications

• Annual yearbook for the Riverside Junior High School Parent-Teacher Association, Fort Worth, Texas, 1967
• Newsletter, The Eagle Record - Exes Edition, published by the Ex-Student's Association of Amon Carter Riverside High School, Fort Worth, Texas, 2007
• The Carterite, student handbook, Amon Carter Riverside High School, Fort Worth, Texas, 1965

Records

• Abstract of Title for Lot 4, Block 2 in the McAdams Addition Second Filing, Fort Worth, Texas, Atkin McLemore Survey Abstract 1056
• Deeds, liens, insurance, and construction records for the house at 523 N. Riverside Drive, Lot 4 in Block 2, McAdams Addition, Fort Worth, Texas, 1923-1966

Yearbooks

• The Eagle, Amon Carter Riverside High School, Fort Worth, Texas, 1937, 1940, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
• The Reveille, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 1977