River Legacy Park Investigation
PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION REPORT
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Case No. 45-7898706656
Date: 05-27-2000
Time: 0710-2330
Equipment: 35mm camera loaded with 800 speed film, and an EMF detector.
Investigator: Brian Roesch
Location: Arlington, Texas.
Results from investigation: Negative at all locations posted below. No results...
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History of the location:
River Legacy Park - Hell's Gate: Walking on a narrow path away from hell's gate you will see what was once a clearing. Reports of moaning and a red hair haired general clad in a Confederate uniform.
It is a long trail with swamps on either side and shaded over by large trees. At the end of the trail is a large mound of dirt and two fence posts that were once a gate. As it is said this was the trail walked by captured spies of the union army on there way to be hung. This gate was the last thing they saw before being led to the tree that stands beyond the gate where they died. Walking the trail one can still hear the sobs and whispered prayers of the men and some women who walked there last steps here.
River Legacy Park - Screaming Bridge: One night after a high school football game a carload of kids were driving fast on a country road just outside of the park. Coming to a narrow bridge over the Trinity River they met their fate when they did not see another car coming hitting it head on. Both cars erupted into flames and plummeted into the river below. All involved were killed and since then the road has been closed and can only be walked to through the park. Legend has it that if you find the bridge you will see the dates of the occurrence and the names of the deceased glowing as tombstones in the water and if after that you still dare you can sit in the middle of the bridge on the night that it happened and at midnight you will witness a heavy fog coming up from the river as you see headlights approaching from either side of the bridge.
River Legacy Park - The Hobo: Near the park are some railroad tracks that run through an area called Mosier Valley so the park is a good getting off place for the train hoppers since the train has to slow down here. One night an old hobo was staying in the park and was awoken by the sounds of screams. Wondering to the edge of the woods from where he had been sleeping he saw a car parked and what appeared to be a man and a woman fighting. Walking closer he saw the man hitting the woman and the woman knocked unconscious. Opening the door he grabbed the man but in the struggle that ensued was shot. The next day the woman was found wondering through the park delirious and half naked but the hobo laid dead next to where the car had been. However, lovers parked late at night still catch a glimpse of the old hobo. Legend has it that late at night if you are still in the park after closing you will hear a tap on your window and there will be an old man standing there in rags.
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1976 Descendants of Arlington pioneer James Gibbins, as well as Berta Rose Brown and her sister Margaret Rose May, donate 204 acres of land along the Trinity River to the city of Arlington, to be used as park land.
1985 Additional land is donated by the Ryan Companies, Perry R. Bass and Texas Industries, among others. Next, the city of Arlington develops a phased master plan for the now 375-acre area. Grants from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the city, totaling $2.45 million, are used to begin development of the land. Private donations totaling $100,000 serve as the foundation for early marketing and fund-raising efforts.
1988 In February, a group of Arlington citizens, in collaboration with the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department, forms River Legacy Foundation. The name “River Legacy Parks” is adopted.
1990 In June, Phase I opens to the public. More than $3 million is spent enhancing the property with trails, river overlooks, picnic and multipurpose areas, a playground, and a concession/restroom building. Roads are built, and signage and lighting are installed. Phase II adds a grand picnic pavilion, shade and trail enhancements, and extensive planting of trees.
1996 Construction is completed on the $5 million River Legacy Living Science Center, which opens to the public on July 2.
2000 Additional land donations over the years bring total acreage to 1,200 and the completion of four additional miles of paved trails.
Named in honor of Robert E. Lee’s hometown in Virginia, Arlington claims a colorful and varied heritage, beginning with Native Americans and continuing through the explorations of the first Europeans and the earliest days of the Texas Republic.
The first inhabitants were American Indians, who according to archaeological evidence may have lived in the area as early as 5,000 B.C. By late Colonial times, the primary residents of this area were the Caddo tribe, whose settlement in what is now West Arlington may have numbered up to 25,000. In addition to farming and hunting, the Caddos did a brisk trade with French, Spanish and Mexican traders for agricultural goods, pottery and other finished goods. The first attempts at Anglo colonization began with the construction in 1840 of Bird’s Fort by Major Jonathan Bird and the Texas Rangers. Later settlement included Johnson Station, a stage stop and trading post near Marrow Bone Springs, which was authorized by Sam Houston to serve as a dividing line between settlers and the American Indian tribes being driven into the area by westward expansion. Friction developed between the tribes and Anglo settlers, resulting at last in the 1841 Battle of Village Creek. General Edward H. Tarrant led the assault of 69 volunteers upon the Caddo villages on Village Creek, burning 225 Indian lodges and pursuing the survivors northward. The tribes who had long inhabited the valley permanently abandoned their settlements after the battle.
In 1843 the Republic of Texas signed its first peace treaty here with nine tribes, including representatives from the Caddo, Keechie, Waco, Cherokee, Delaware and Biloxi tribes. Still, Indian attacks remained a common occurrence through the 1850s. In 1857 a grist mill was built on the Trinity River by Archibald Leonard; the mill was later bought by R.A. Randol and operated as Randol’s Mill until 1922.
During the 1860s the Civil War further disturbed the area, with the non-Indian population dropping from 6,000 to 1,000. Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson, a former Texas Ranger whose local land holdings included a large part of Tarrant County, and who had donated the land for the Fort Worth Court House and jail, joined in the Confederate cause, with Johnson Station providing armaments and volunteers to the Civil War effort.
By 1875, the Texas and Pacific Railroad was building a new line west from Dallas to Fort Worth, and settled on Johnson Station as the stop in between. However, the owner of the right of way didn’t want a train coming through his property.
Thus, the railroad chose a new site three miles north of Johnson Station and west of Hayterville (sited at what is now the intersection of Collins and Abram Streets). This new station was eventually named Arlington, after Arlington, Virginia, the hometown of Confederate hero General Robert E. Lee. The first train roared through the new Arlington on July 19, 1876, and on April 19, 1884, Arlington was incorporated as a city.
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