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HISTORY
The neighborhood of Ryanwood lies seven miles east of the Fort Worth
Central Business District. It is bordered on the north by I-30, the east by Sandy Lane, the south by
Meadowbrook Dr., and the west by Loop 820. It is included in four early surveys: the 1869 Isaac Caradine
Survey, the 1864 John W. Haynes Survey, the 1859 Rector Collins Survey and 1859 Wm. S. Sublett Survey.
In the northwest corner of the Ryanwood area, which sits on the northern border of Meadowbrook Drive, east
of Loop 820, is the former town of Ederville.
During the 1870's, the Eder family owned a large amount of land in the area.
Around this time, J.S. Works, of the Fort Worth Real Estate Company, established settlements along the Fort
Worth & Denver Railroad, and was subsequently given 90 acres near the Eder family's land. The Ederville
Hotel was located on this land, so when Works platted and established a community on this land in 1913, he
named it Ederville.
The Ederville Hotel has a unique past, which was recorded in the November 25, 1887
edition of the Fort Worth Gazette. The Gazette touted the benefits which the blue mineral water issued
from wells would have on Fort Worth. According to the Gazette story, "If Fort Worth gets her just desserts as a
watering place, our city will be crowded all winter with people from all sections."
In order to tap the potential revenue association with the mineral wells,
a "pretentious" two- story frame hotel containing mineral baths was built by W.D. Wilder and W.A. Disbrough.
They ultimately convinced 150 Fort Worth citizens to invest in the hotel, and they built a street-car line
from downtown Fort Worth to the hotel. Fort Worth's population at the time was 29,000.
Ederville's public square and town center was bordered by First Street on the
south, Nottingham on the west, Eder on the north and Milan on the east. Land along the northern edge of the
old town was sold to the Texas Turnpike Authority in 1955 for the construction of the Dallas Turnpike, now I-30.
Today the land, which made up Ederville, contains only a few old boarded-up
structures. The intersection of Loop 820 and I-30 covers most of the former town and the mineral wells have
been capped. The only thing left of Ederville is a street, which is not even located in what was Ederville.
Early landowners in the area included Frank Isham and J.S. Works who are now
remembered in street names. Landowners also included J.O. Reeves in 1893, and Mrs. M.A. Godsey in 1908.
Cass O. Edwards, who owned the Edwards Ranch in southwest Fort Worth, also owned land in north Ryanwood around 1912.
People involved in the development in Ryanwood include J.H. Ryan,
who build homes around 1945, and B.F. Beaty, W.B. Grove and T.R. Fricks who built around 1962. Builders B.W.
Giles and Avante Homes built homes in the area in the early 1970's.
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