Major parts of the memorial have been completed, Rouse said, including much of the walking path built with pavers, and large metal steel panels built in the shape of the \u201cdeath tree\u201d from which Fred Rouse was hanged. Much of the irrigation and vegetation work, as well as the fence and a mural, remain unfinished, Rouse said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still quite a bit of work that needs to be done,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Fred Rouse was lynched on Dec. 11, 1921, on the corner of NE 12th Street and Samuels Avenue. He was initially attacked by a white mob of striking meatpacking workers from the Stockyards. Fred Rouse had been hired as a nonunion worker during the strike, in a period when Black people were not allowed to join trade unions in Texas during the Jim Crow era.<\/p>\n
After surviving the initial attack, Fred Rouse was abducted from the hospital and hanged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSC04948-1024x683.jpg\")
The historic marker at 1000 NE 12th St. details the 1921 murder of Fred Rouse, the only officially recorded lynching victim in Fort Worth. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
In December 2021,<\/a> a marker honoring him was placed at the Maddox-Muse Center,<\/a> 330 E. 4th St. The center was once the Metropolis and County Hospital from which Rouse was abducted.<\/p>\n After the marker was placed at the Maddox-Muse Center, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation<\/a> gave a grant to the coalition to help the organization buy the land where Rouse was killed. Specific plans for the memorial were made public in December 2023.<\/p>\n Additional information for donating can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ismael M. Belkoura is the nonprofit editor for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from North Texas Community Foundation. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n