11/03/08

Amon Carter Riverside High School

Red Letter Dates and Fascinating Facts

1936 - 2001
(courtesy of Richard "Rick" Herring '83)

August 1935 - Ground is broken for a new high school in Riverside; thousands attend a sunrise ground breaking ceremony.

September 15, 1936 - Riverside High School opens its doors to senior high and junior high students.

The school mascot, the Eagle, is chosen to honor the Eagle family who were influential in Riverside education for many years, from Dr. Daniel Eagle who built the first one-room Riverside school in 1876 to his grandson George Eagle, school board member who led the crusade to build a high school in Riverside.

January 28, 1937 - Sixteen mid-term graduates receive the first diplomas from Riverside High School. Did you know that the academic level only went to the eleventh grade back in those days?

February 1941 - The school board changes the name of the school to Amon Carter Riverside High School in honor of the Fort Worth civic leader. Students and community members protest at first, but the change is eventually accepted.

1948 - First Homecoming held; Ex-Student's Association organized.

1950 - Riverside Junior High School opened for grades 7 through 9, relieving overcrowding at Amon Carter Riverside High School.

mid 1950's - Band Hall and Shop Wing built, as well as the Athletic Field House.

1951 - Spring commencement exercises include the Star Telegram Publisher Mr. Amon G. Carter Sr. who is supposed to have received an honorary diploma. Mr. Carter never finished school, but he was instrumental in establishing Texas Tech University.

Fall 1958 - Carter goes to the state quarterfinals in football.

Fall 1959 - Carter goes to the state semifinals in football.

1959 - Carter finishes second in 4A State track meet.

1970 - Carter baseball makes it to the State Semifinals.

1974 - Largest ever graduating class has 211 students.

1980 - New gymnasium is built.

1981 - Building is air-conditioned.

1982 - The auditorium painting "Sacred Birds", a gift to Carter Riverside from Amon G. Carter is sold for over $50,000 and the proceeds used to establish a scholarship fund.

1983 - School board announced plans to close Carter Riverside; the community rallies and unites to keep the school open.

1983 - Historical marker placed on front lawn of the school.

1986 - 50th anniversary celebration draws hundreds.

1989 - New northwest wing built.

1995 - Carter Riverside again makes it to the playoffs in football.

1996 - Summer reunion activities drew over 700 former graduates back to the campus to celebrate the All 50's Reunion.

2001 - High school band increases to over 100 marching members and re-institution of the ROTC program enrolls 130 students.

Principals of Amon Carter Riverside High School

Robert W. Records 1936 - 1944

T. E. Wentworth 1944 - 1949

Hague L. Lindsay 1949 - 1967

Lawrence H. Dixon 1967 - 1975

Jack Bass 1975 - 1985

Sam Peterson 1985 - 1997

Alberto Gonzalez 1997 - 2004

Maria Sanchez 2004 - Present

School colors: Red and Blue

School Mascot: The American Bald Eagle

Distinguished Graduates of Amon Carter Riverside High School Plaque Winners

Some important addresses and phone numbers

Streetcar Lines in Riverside
(by Cy Martin '52)

There were actually two different car lines to Riverside.  The first on went from downtown out E first street to cross the river on a bridge long gone.  The long streetcars they tried to use had difficulty negotiating the crossing of the railroads at grade at that point, and the company gave up the idea of a car line.  If you look at the railroad tracks at First street, I'm sure you can tell why.

This was in the 1890s before Mr. Post of Post Cereals became part of the development. I've read that the attraction was our fine soil.  (Remember the great sandy loam, so easy to dig in and grow stuff in.  (My soil out here in the mid cities has so much clay in it that you'd have difficulty raising an umbrella on it.)

Most of the streets south of Race (originally Central) and east of Sylvania Ave have their original names.

The company had the name "...Sylvania...."in its title.  Sylvania was the original name of Riverside. "SYLVANIA" was the name given to Riverside by the wife of Doctor Eagle in the early days.   Some of us attended high school with her grandson Jim (maybe great grandson.)  There is an Eagle Drive in Riverside that borders the high school (Carter-Riverside Eagles.) Although I love Riverside and know that it is the best side of Fort Worth, a part of me wishes we had kept the Sylvania name.

The old Rock Island Railroad built through here in about 1896 and built a station at what is call Sylvania Yard, between what is today Riverside Drive and Beach Street (Originally called Negro Cemetery Rd.) I do not know when the station and yard office were removed.

The last streetcar line to Riverside came out east third street, under the Santa Fe RR a few more blocks and turned south for one block and turned east on fourth street.  It went under the Fort Worth and Denver City and Cotton belt RRs and then under the Rock Island.

There it continued on to the Trinity River and on in to Riverside where it turned north from E 4th Street.  The line ended at Race Street.

At the gutters on both sides of Belknap you can still see about an 8 foot space where the pavement was repaired when the track was removed. If you catch the light just right, you can see slight depressions that indicate where the cross ties are still located under the pavement. There used to be grooves where the car would sometimes roll onto the pavement at the end of track.

I only got to ride the trolley once. It was during December 1936 when my brother David was born. My dad always had an adventure if you accompanied him any where. We walked from our house on Dalford down to 6-point and boarded the trolley.

It was fascinating. The hiss of the air brake, the phenolic smell of the electrical equipment.

The motorman sat at a big wooden cabinet with a lever with a knob at the end. It gave me the ideas that he was steering the car, but dad explained that the lever controlled the speed.