The History of North Richland Hills, Texas
North Richland Hills is a city that started as one man's dairy farm and a refusal to be swallowed. When a neighboring town wouldn't annex the new subdivision, the residents just formed their own city instead — 268 acres and 500 people, incorporated on the spot. It grew from there into one of the bigger northeast Tarrant suburbs, best known now for a city-owned waterpark.
From Dairy Farm to Instant City (1952–1953)
The city's origin is refreshingly literal. In 1952 a man named Clarence Jones began subdividing his 268-acre dairy farm into a suburban housing addition northeast of Fort Worth. When the new North Richland Hills Civic League asked to be annexed into the neighboring town of Richland Hills, they were turned down — so they voted to form their own city instead. In 1953, those 268 acres of the old Jones farm, with about 500 residents, incorporated as the City of North Richland Hills. A dairy pasture had become a municipality in the span of a couple of years.
Absorbing Smithfield (1957–1960)
The young city grew by reaching outward. By 1957 its boundary had crept within two miles of Smithfield, an older farming community that grew cotton, grain, and fruit and had gotten its start when the Cotton Belt Railroad arrived in 1887. By 1960, Smithfield had been annexed into North Richland Hills, folding the older settlement's history into the new city. That pattern — subdivision, incorporation, annexation — is how much of the postwar mid-cities got built, and North Richland Hills is a textbook example.
The Waterpark Suburb (1960s–Today)
North Richland Hills matured into a solidly middle-class suburb in the crowded northeast Tarrant County corridor between Fort Worth and the airport. Its best-known landmark is NRH2O, a city-owned family waterpark that became a regional summer draw and a point of local pride. Now a built-out city of more than 70,000, North Richland Hills has grown a long way from the 268 acres of dairy pasture a civic league turned into a town rather than let itself be annexed.
Timeline
1887
The Cotton Belt Railroad reaches Smithfield, later absorbed into North Richland Hills.
1952
Clarence Jones subdivides his 268-acre dairy farm into a suburban addition.
1953
Denied annexation by Richland Hills, residents incorporate the City of North Richland Hills.
1960
The older farming community of Smithfield is annexed into North Richland Hills.
Notable People
Clarence Jones
Dairy farmer whose 268-acre farm was subdivided in 1952, forming the core of the future city of North Richland Hills.
Logan Henderson
Actor and singer from North Richland Hills, known for the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush.
FAQ: History of North Richland Hills
It began when Clarence Jones subdivided his 268-acre dairy farm in 1952. After the neighboring town of Richland Hills declined to annex the new subdivision, residents voted to incorporate their own city — North Richland Hills — in 1953, starting with about 500 people.
Smithfield was an older farming community, established after the Cotton Belt Railroad arrived in 1887, that grew cotton, grain, and fruit. It was annexed into North Richland Hills by 1960.
NRH2O is a city-owned family waterpark in North Richland Hills that became a regional summer attraction and one of the city's best-known landmarks.
The name reflects its location — the subdivision sat north of the neighboring town of Richland Hills, which had declined to annex it, so residents formed the City of North Richland Hills in 1953.
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