City Hall in the City of Venus

Description

Photograph of the front door of Venus city hall. Entrance also serves the City of Venus Housing Authority. The town was called Venus after the modestly named daughter of a local Doctor. The town founder, a Mr. J. C. Smyth chose the name shortly after laying out the town site on what had been a cornfield. They got their post office in 1888 and according to the Handbook of Texas, the population had shot up to 10 people just in time for the 1890 census. Two railroads met at Venus and that turned the town into a beehive of activity. … continued below

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 10 x 8 in.

Creation Information

Creator: Unknown. Creation Date: Unknown.

Context

This photograph is part of the collection entitled: Tarrant County College Northeast, Heritage Room and was provided by the Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 2269 times. More information about this photograph can be viewed below.

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Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room

The Heritage Room and District Archives were officially established in 2010, but their origins date back to the mid-1970s, with the former opening in 1975. With an emphasis on the cultural heritage of Tarrant County and North Texas, they house thousands of items.

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Description

Photograph of the front door of Venus city hall. Entrance also serves the City of Venus Housing Authority.

The town was called Venus after the modestly named daughter of a local Doctor. The town founder, a Mr. J. C. Smyth chose the name shortly after laying out the town site on what had been a cornfield.

They got their post office in 1888 and according to the Handbook of Texas, the population had shot up to 10 people just in time for the 1890 census.

Two railroads met at Venus and that turned the town into a beehive of activity. Thirteen businesses were reported in the mid 1890s. The railroads, or at least one of them, continue to be a presence in Venus.

The town incorporated in 1903 and the population swelled to 800 during the prosperous years following World War I.

During the Great Depression, Dallas and Fort Worth drew off many Venetians and by the early 40s, there was only one business left in Venus and that was about to close. In a touching show of support, the townspeople chipped in to save the business (a drugstore) from closing and turning Venus into a ghost.

Today, the Venus city limits cross the county line and a single row of old brick buildings from Venus' heyday comprise downtown. The 1990 Census reported that just under 1,000 people called Venus home.

Physical Description

1 photograph : b&w ; 10 x 8 in.

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Tarrant County College Northeast, Heritage Room

Materials documenting local and state history, including images of businesses, cemeteries, churches, courthouses, lawmen, monuments, outlaws, schools, Native Americans, and early pioneers of Tarrant County.

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  • Unknown

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Added to The Portal to Texas History

  • Aug. 30, 2007, 2:28 p.m.

Description Last Updated

  • Aug. 27, 2020, 11:36 a.m.

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City Hall in the City of Venus, photograph, Date Unknown; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth28024/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room.

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