FORT WORTH, Texas — The story of Ms. Opal Lee’s neighbor and his mansion on Terrell Avenue in Fort Worth almost sounds like a tall tale. But William Madison McDonald was very much real. He was the first Black millionaire in Texas.
“It was huge. It was the most magnificent thing in our neighborhood,” Ms. Lee said. “That house was a replica of the plantation house where he was raised.”
William McDonald gained most his fortune through banking in the early 1900s, and he spread the wealth throughout the community.
“I guess it was the Depression when other banks were failing, his bank didn’t,” Lee recalled. “Other banks were failing. He undoubtingly loaned them money.”
He also developed a thriving black-owned business district. Along with his bank, there was a pharmacy, a jazz club, cafe, shops and a hotel. Ms. Lee says this was the place to be in Fort Worth.
“It had a hub. That building is gone, but it was the most fabulous building for Black people in Fort Worth next to that bank.”
Not too bad for a Black man born one year after Juneteenth. Now the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” is keeping her neighbor’s legacy alive.
“Everybody thought a great deal of McDonald. A great deal. They revered him,” she said.
Terrell Avenue, the street where legends were made.
William McDonald was also a powerful player in Texas politics in the late 1800s. He become known as “Gooseneck Bill” when a reporter mocked his tall, lean stature.
McDonald took the nickname and continued making a name for himself.
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