The community of Rendon is located on Farm to Market Road 1187 just about
twelve miles
southeast of downtown Fort Worth. The unincorporated town was named for Joaquin Rendon, the original land grant holder in the region. I can’t find any information about this man, and I’d like to know where he came from and what drew him to the area. Originally known as Cross Roads, settlement began in the area with the arrival of the Hopper family. Evidently they farmed and raised cattle. That still occurs in this rural area, but on a much more limited basis. Where once there were cattle, there are now horses, donkeys, goats, llamas, and at one time commercially raised pigs and chickens. Until the late 1960s you could go down to the ‘chicken farms’ to get freshly slaughtered chickens or fresh eggs. Llama and horse ranches are also a latter addition to the Rendon area and smell a lot better than did the chickens and pigs. Back in the 1880s, the Norwood family also came to the area, helping to organize churches as well as bringing a general store and a post office. It was with the establishment of the post office that the name of the community was changed to Rendon. The Haddocks also arrived about this same time. By about 1895 Rendon boasted a flour mill, two gins, and a blacksmith, to serve a population of twenty-five. Norwood sold some acreage to the founders of the school and the cemetery about two years later. The Rendon School and the Rendon Cemetery were founded at that time. On the site of the original school house is a modern school that vacillates from housing alternative classes, to overflow elementary classes, to administrative offices; it’s now part of the Mansfield School District. By 1954 a volunteer fire department had been organized; the ‘new’ fire hall is on the site of the original. There are still fund raisers for this group that carry on the tradition of holding pancake breakfasts, and a Thanksgiving dinner; these activities pay for the fire and ambulance service that now takes care of more than 10,000 residents. At one time Near-Normal Traveler, Vince, was a member of the volunteer fire department as an EMT.
The house I grew up in was built in 1942. It’s one of the only remaining structures that is typical of Rendon in the 1940s and 1950s. That’s not to say it’s an historical home or that it
hasn’t been
remodeled. As a child I spent many a hot
summer afternoon playing in the relative coolness of the breezeway that
connected the main house to the garage and the upstairs apartment. In the
1950s, a parent of one of the students whom my mother taught began the
remodeling. We lost the breezeway and the garage, but gained a ‘dining room’
and a ‘study’. Once the garage was gone, we had to build a barn that I saw as a
monumental structure. It was actually large enough for the horse to go in and
turn around, with another smaller side to house the feed. Everything looks
larger when you’re only 5 or 6 years old.
The Rendon of my childhood was a crossroads for a Farm to Market road and a ‘large’ local
street, Rendon Road, that connected Forest
Hills and Rendon. The very first speed limit sign looked a good deal as if an
elementary school child had printed it with black crayon. You knew you were in
Rendon when you passed the cemetery that was across from the convenience
store/gas station. It wasn’t until very much later, say 50 years, that I
noticed that there was more than one cemetery in Rendon. The second one is also
off FM 1187, toward the top of a hill and set well back from the road. Its location
wasn’t apparent until someone, I think the church next
door, actually had a person hack down the tall grass. It probably surprised the
church folks as well as the man clearing the underbrush, to discover several
headstones. This is the Walnut
Creek Cemetery and was, perhaps, donated by the Hoppers to the community.
There is no fee for burial here and the grounds are maintained by the son of
one of the people recently interred. Interestingly, there are several graves
for the Hopper family and quite a few for the Haddock family. There are also
headstones marking the final resting places of two Confederate soldiers,
complete with the Confederate flags and an official emblem of the Confederacy. I
was also surprised to see a stone for Mrs. Dora Long. She had been a friend of
my grandmother’s; I remember going to Mrs. Dora’s house and listening to she
and Grandmother visit. Mrs. Dora dipped snuff and I was fascinated to watch her
dip and spit since no one in our family displayed this habit.
Rendon has changed a bit, but the crossroad is still there, along with the main cemetery and the updated gas station. There is another gas station, now, and several restaurants as well
as a few small stores.
The latest addition is a pizza place that offers delivery service! We decided
that we’d eat at the ‘famous’ Myrtle’s Burgers (4568 E FM 1187 # B, Burleson,
TX 76028, 817-561-1836). Since it was 100o F in the shade of their
porch, we picked up the burgers, fries, and onion rings then headed back to the
‘old home place’. The burgers are large and made while you wait; the lettuce,
tomato, pickles, and onions taste fresh. Vince had the onion rings, that were
huge, hot and crispy; he said they were very good. My French fries were good,
also. While the prices are a bit high, your food is fresh and made to your
specifications. You can sit outside and watch the traffic or take your food to
go, there is no table service. (For information about my rating system, see Reading the
Reviews.)
©2016 NearNormal Design and Production Studio - All rights including copyright of photographs and designs, as well as intellectual rights are reserved.
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| Pond on a farm in Rendon |
southeast of downtown Fort Worth. The unincorporated town was named for Joaquin Rendon, the original land grant holder in the region. I can’t find any information about this man, and I’d like to know where he came from and what drew him to the area. Originally known as Cross Roads, settlement began in the area with the arrival of the Hopper family. Evidently they farmed and raised cattle. That still occurs in this rural area, but on a much more limited basis. Where once there were cattle, there are now horses, donkeys, goats, llamas, and at one time commercially raised pigs and chickens. Until the late 1960s you could go down to the ‘chicken farms’ to get freshly slaughtered chickens or fresh eggs. Llama and horse ranches are also a latter addition to the Rendon area and smell a lot better than did the chickens and pigs. Back in the 1880s, the Norwood family also came to the area, helping to organize churches as well as bringing a general store and a post office. It was with the establishment of the post office that the name of the community was changed to Rendon. The Haddocks also arrived about this same time. By about 1895 Rendon boasted a flour mill, two gins, and a blacksmith, to serve a population of twenty-five. Norwood sold some acreage to the founders of the school and the cemetery about two years later. The Rendon School and the Rendon Cemetery were founded at that time. On the site of the original school house is a modern school that vacillates from housing alternative classes, to overflow elementary classes, to administrative offices; it’s now part of the Mansfield School District. By 1954 a volunteer fire department had been organized; the ‘new’ fire hall is on the site of the original. There are still fund raisers for this group that carry on the tradition of holding pancake breakfasts, and a Thanksgiving dinner; these activities pay for the fire and ambulance service that now takes care of more than 10,000 residents. At one time Near-Normal Traveler, Vince, was a member of the volunteer fire department as an EMT.
The house I grew up in was built in 1942. It’s one of the only remaining structures that is typical of Rendon in the 1940s and 1950s. That’s not to say it’s an historical home or that it
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| House built in 1942 |
The Rendon of my childhood was a crossroads for a Farm to Market road and a ‘large’ local
 |
| Top L to R: Historic Marker, Hopper stone, Confederate stone Bottom L to R: Long stone, Haddock stone |
 |
| Three carrots |
Rendon has changed a bit, but the crossroad is still there, along with the main cemetery and the updated gas station. There is another gas station, now, and several restaurants as well
 |
| Top L to R: Burger, Myrtle's Burgers Bottom L to R: Fries, Onion rings |
 |
| Llamas |
©2016 NearNormal Design and Production Studio - All rights including copyright of photographs and designs, as well as intellectual rights are reserved.
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