Central Handley Historic District

Fort Worth, United States

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Heritage registerNational Register of Historic Places↗

The Central Handley Historic District in Fort Worth, Texas, seven miles east of downtown, preserves the commercial core of the small town of Handley, which existed from approximately 1910 to 1951 before annexation into Fort Worth. Platted in 1885 by the Texas & Pacific Railway, the town's development was catalyzed by railroad infrastructure and the arrival of the Northern Texas Traction Company's Interurban streetcar service connecting Fort Worth and Dallas in 1902. As the site of the traction company's power plant and car barns, Handley attracted employees of both transit and railroad operations. The district's Chicago School architecture reflects its commercial origins, with buildings oriented north of the railway reservation and the depot marking the southern boundary. These businesses served local residents, area farmers, and commuters traveling the railroad and Interurban lines. The district was named for James Madison Handley, a Georgia-born Civil War veteran, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 2002.