Birdville Historical Society

About the Birdville Historical Society

The parent organization of the Birdville Museum is the Birdville Historical Society. It was founded in 1996 and became a non-profit 501 c 3 organization in 1996. Its goal is the preservation of the history of Birdville and the communities that are part of the original Birdville Settlement. These include the Cities of Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Watauga. A collection of photographs, books and artifacts was begun by Betty Porter, who is a founder and current leader of the society and its efforts.

About the Birdville Museum

In 2011, Birdville School District came to an agreement with the historical society that allowed use of school district space for the purpose of opening a museum. At the same time, a partnership was formed between the society and a school district retiree, Ida Joe Reynolds, who had saved and stored BISD artifacts and other memorabilia. Her collection included every BISD high school annual published since 1941. This partnership resulted in a museum that covered both the district history and that of the Birdville area.

The museum's photo collection features numerous portraits from community leaders beginning in the late 1800s. There are depictions of the original Tarrant County Courthouse (circa 1850), the first school buildings (circa 1858) and local merchants along the original downtown Birdville location. Portraits of individual leaders include the first county doctor, the family for which the City of Haltom City is named, and a collection of 14 portraits taken by Schwartz Photography of Fort Worth.

Acknowledgments

Funding for Birdville Historical Society programs comes from memberships, annual fundraisers and grants. The society and museum also receive annual monetary support from the City of Haltom City and in-kind support from the school district.