UNT Press

About Rich's Fort Worth from World War II to 1960

Harold Rich reviews Fort Worth’s history during the challenging times of World War II, the postwar adjustment period, and the first full decade of the Cold War, with special focus on local crime and criminals, vice, the police, race relations, and economic development. What emerges is a portrait of a growing city developing major urban accoutrements such as industrialization, freeways, and an art infrastructure while also struggling with an active and sizable criminal underworld and the emerging Civil Rights Movement.

Fort Worth would achieve significant economic progress in the 1940s, especially from the addition of Convair, that would expand its population at a fast pace but would lose much of that momentum in the 1950s. During both decades the police confronted rising demands related to traffic control and internal corruption that most notably affected their ability to deal with gambling and prostitution, both of which seemed to be everywhere. As the 1950s drew to a close, both vices began to subside, more from a decline in public acceptance than from police activity. In contrast, little changed regarding race relations despite the efforts of many local activists and favorable rulings emanating from the nation’s courts. More significant progress would come in the 1960s and accelerate thereafter.