City Of Fort Worth: Black History Month Spotlight: Hiram McGar

Press release from City of Fort Worth:

February 25, 2022

Black History Month, celebrated in February, is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society, including activists, civil rights pioneers and leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more. In the spirit of that mission, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the rest of the month, a local Black hero will be featured in hopes that their stories will inspire you all year long to explore other fascinating change agents.

Hiram McGar Jr. was born Dec. 12, 1863, in Texas, the son of Hiram McGar and his wife, Mary Shackelford. In 1870, they lived in Waller County. His name first appears in Fort Worth in the 1901 City Directory as owner of the Watkins and McGar Saloon at 110 E. 12th St.

For the next decade, McGar owned and operated several saloons in the African American community that developed on the eastern edge of downtown during one of the city’s ugliest racial periods. Around 1905, he was in partnership with Joseph Patterson and Eugene McGill, as proprietors of the Capitol Bar at 301 W. 13th St. By 1907, he had his own saloon at 109 E. 10th St. until 1912, when he moved to the 900 block of Jones Street.

That establishment was involved in a famous police shooting on May 15, 1913. Tommy Lee, an African American porter, was enraged because of losses in a craps game. He found Walter Moore, an African American expressman, in McGar’s poolroom and shot him with a shotgun. Officer John A. Ogletree, who went in pursuit of Lee, was shot and killed. Lee wounded five other people before accidently shooting himself. A mob gathered at the jail to take him for a lynching and eventually went to the Black Business District, destroying homes, stores and saloons – probably including McGar’s establishment.

By then, McGar had become interested in baseball as a commercial venture and organized the first African American team, McGar’s Wonders, in Fort Worth. He also bought land to create McGar’s park, where African Americans could go to watch competitive sports like those played by the Lone Star Colored Baseball League. In 1916, McGar was president of the Colored Texas League, who played at McGar’s Park – one block south of Panther Park, where the Texas League Fort Worth Cats played. By 1920, he was owner/manager of the Fort Worth team of the Texas Negro League, who played at Panther Park when the Panthers were on the road.

With the coming of prohibition in 1920, McGar switched from saloons to soft drinks. In 1922, he was vice president of the Citizens’ Drug Store at 907½ Jones St., the same location as his saloon, and he continued to rent furnished rooms.

McGar died Dec. 13, 1930, and was buried in Trinity Cemetery, a portion of Oakwood Cemetery that is reserved for African Americans.

There are no known photos of McGar.

Source: Hometown by Handlebars 

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This press release was produced by City of Fort Worth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.