The community began when W.S. Peters agreed to bring 600
families into the area within a three-year period as part of a land
grant. Families began arriving in the summer of 1848. In 1849, Tarrant
County was established and named for General Edward H. Tarrant. The
community of Birdville (adjacent to what is now North Richland Hills'
southwest boundary) was named the first County Seat. The area remained a
rural farming and ranching community for more than 100 years. In 1952,
Clarence Jones began to subdivide his 268-acre (1.08 km2)
dairy farm into a suburban addition in the area that is now Cummings
Drive. In 1953, the North Richland Hills Civic League sought to have the
area annexed to Richland Hills, then voted to form their own city when
annexation was denied. An election was held, and the 268 acres (1.08 km2)
of the Jones Farm, with a population of 500, became officially
incorporated as the City of North Richland Hills
