William D. Davis

William D. "Bill" Davis
Davis c. 1942
Mayor of Fort Worth
In office June 1, 1909 – April 15, 1913
Preceded by	William D. Williams
Succeeded by	Robert F. Milam
Mayor of Fort Worth
In office April 1917 – April 1921
Preceded by	William Bryce
Succeeded by	E. R. Cockrell
3rd Mayor of North Fort Worth
In office 1908 – June 1, 1909
Preceded by	James M. Scott
Succeeded by	Office abolished (North Fort Worth annexed by Fort Worth)
Personal details
Born	(1867-10-30)October 30, 1867 Neshoba County, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	August 2, 1942(1942-08-02) (aged 74) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	West Hill Cemetery, Sherman, Texas
Party	Democratic
Spouses	Ella P. Reynolds (m. 1890; died 1908) Malissa "Ola" DeOlar (Henderson) Price (m. 1909; div. by 1920)
Children	2 (including Marvin Lester Davis)
Occupation	Cattleman, businessman, oil entrepreneur, politician
Known for	Annexation of North Fort Worth; construction of Lake Worth

William D. "Bill" Davis (October 30, 1867 – August 2, 1942) was an American cattleman, businessman, oil entrepreneur, and Democratic politician who served as the third mayor of North Fort Worth and later as mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. A leading figure in Fort Worth's political and civic life during the early twentieth century, he played a central role in the 1909 annexation of North Fort Worth into Fort Worth and served multiple terms as mayor of the consolidated city.

Early life and education

Davis was born on October 30, 1867, in Neshoba County, Mississippi, the eldest son of Moses Davis and Cynthia Threatt Davis. In December 1869, his family moved to Glen Rose, Texas, and by 1880 they had settled in Limestone County, where they farmed. Davis attended rural schools before enrolling at Granbury College.

Business career

During the 1890s, Davis lived in Galveston, Texas, where he became a successful wheat trader. His business suffered a setback after a large shipment of wheat was lost in a flood, forcing him into bankruptcy. By 1900, he had relocated to Denton, where he entered the cattle trade as a buyer and seller. Davis was bankrupted again during the Panic of 1907. By then, he was living in North Fort Worth, where he had been one of the incorporators of the municipality. Within a few years, he acquired a large cattle-and-wheat ranch near Waurika, Oklahoma.

Following his last campaign for mayor in 1920, Davis operated a 30,000-acre ranch near Waurika, Oklahoma.

Davis was also involved in the oil business through the Bill Davis Oil Association, a private company organized to develop his oil leases.

Mayor of North Fort Worth

In January 1906, Davis entered politics with the organization of a "Davis Club" in North Fort Worth to campaign for his mayoral election. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected the municipality's third mayor in 1908 after having been one of its incorporators. During his tenure, he became one of the principal advocates of annexing North Fort Worth into the City of Fort Worth.

The annexation was completed in 1909 and transformed Davis from the mayor of an independent municipality into one of the leading political figures of the newly enlarged Fort Worth. Contemporary newspaper accounts later described his efforts as instrumental in achieving the consolidation, which permanently altered the city's political and commercial landscape.

Mayor of Fort Worth

Following the annexation of North Fort Worth, Davis emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Fort Worth mayor William D. Williams after Williams resigned to accept appointment to the Texas Railroad Commission.

Davis defeated R. H. McNatt in the Democratic primary held in May 1909 and then stood unopposed in the special election on May 29, receiving all 339 votes cast. He was sworn into office on June 1, 1909, becoming mayor of the newly enlarged City of Fort Worth.

First administration (1909–1913)

In March 1910, Davis organized the construction of two gravel railroad crossings to connect roads divided by tracks of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway after the company had repeatedly delayed their construction. The work was carried out at night without the railroad's consent.

In April 1910, Davis organized a volunteer campaign to assist federal census enumerators in obtaining a complete population count for Fort Worth, urging residents to report anyone who had been omitted from the census.

In 1911, Davis was re-elected mayor. In September, Davis signed the contract authorizing construction of the Lake Worth dam on behalf of the City of Fort Worth.

He was defeated by Robert F. Milam in the 1912 Democratic primary and left office on April 15, 1913.

In 1913, Davis opposed the proposed McNealus anti-stream pollution bill, arguing before the House Committee on Public Health that compliance would be inconvenient and expensive for Fort Worth. He also maintained that Dallas would have opposed the legislation had it been situated upstream.

In June 1913, after leaving office, Davis inspected construction of the Lake Worth reservoir and expressed confidence that the work could be completed within four months if allowed to proceed without interruption.

Return to politics

Davis sought to regain the mayoralty in 1914 but again lost the Democratic nomination to Milam, this time by 333 votes.

He returned two years later and defeated Robert Harrison in the 1916 Democratic primary before winning the 1917 general election over Socialist candidate R. A. McFarland by a vote of 2,549 to 194.

Campaign literature issued during his 1918 re-election campaign promised an "open-door" administration, opposition to secret municipal meetings, lower streetcar fares, and careful management of public finances.

In the same year, Davis declined to attend conferences convened by Dallas mayor Joe Earl Lawther concerning enforcement of the state's anti-stream pollution law. Attorney General Benjamin F. Looney subsequently declined to prosecute Fort Worth, stating that enforcement of the law rested with the State Health Department rather than his office.

Lake Worth and municipal improvements

The project most closely associated with Davis's administrations was the construction of Lake Worth. Construction of the city-owned dam and reservoir began in 1912 and was completed in October 1914. Supporters regarded the project as essential to Fort Worth's continued growth and praised its value for both municipal water service and fire protection. Critics, however, argued that the undertaking was unnecessarily expensive, making Lake Worth a recurring political issue throughout Davis's later career.

The project's cost continued to influence local politics after Davis left office. During the 1915 mayoral election, his successor, Elisha T. Tyra, campaigned on reducing municipal debt after approximately $1.5 million had been spent on the construction of Lake Worth.

Editorials published after Davis's death identified the construction of Lake Worth as his signature civic achievement and credited the project with laying the foundation for Fort Worth's future development.

Beyond Lake Worth, Davis's administrations oversaw the paving of numerous city streets, including North Main Street, and expanded municipal infrastructure during a period of rapid population growth.

Defeat and departure from office

Davis remained mayor until April 1921 after losing the 1920 Democratic primary to E. R. Cockrell. He challenged Cockrell again in 1923 as an independent candidate, alleging that the Democratic primary had been conducted illegally. Davis was defeated in the general election by a margin of 11,147 votes to 7,280.

Although he never again served as mayor, Davis remained one of the city's most recognizable political figures for the next two decades, frequently commenting on municipal affairs and continuing to campaign for public office.

Public service

Davis was elected president of the Texas Mayors' Association in July 1909 during the organization's annual convention in San Angelo. He continued serving in that capacity during 1910. He was also a director of the American League of Municipalities.

In March 1911, Davis served as master of ceremonies at the opening of Fort Worth's Fifteenth Annual Fat Stock Show, which featured former President Theodore Roosevelt as the principal speaker.

Although he never served in the military, Davis acted as a civilian supervisor of three United States Army training camps in the western United States in 1917. In 1918, he led Fort Worth's Third Liberty Loan campaign.

Later political career

Following his final term as mayor, Davis remained active in Fort Worth. In 1924, he opposed the city's adoption of the council-manager form of government. In 1933, he served as foreman of the Tarrant County grand jury and later that year in November represented the county as a delegate to the Texas convention that ratified the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, repealing Prohibition.

Davis was also involved in efforts to establish a county home-rule charter. In early 1934, he chaired the Tarrant County Home Rule Charter Convention and served on the commission responsible for drafting the proposed charter, although voters ultimately rejected the measure. That same year, Davis sought the Democratic nomination for Tarrant County judge but was defeated. The following year, he became involved in a dispute with the Fort Worth Press, which accused him of wasting approximately $80,000 of public funds on an abandoned settling basin project associated with Lake Worth. Davis filed a libel suit after arguing that the actual expenditure had been $17,575.94. A trial court awarded him $1,000 in damages, but the judgment was later reversed by the Texas Court of Civil Appeals, which held that the newspaper's reporting was substantially true despite the incorrect amount cited.

Davis again sought election as county judge in 1936 but narrowly lost to Dave T. Miller by eighty-nine votes. During that campaign, the construction of Lake Worth—completed more than two decades earlier—again became an issue in local politics. Former mayor Robert F. Milam publicly defended Davis's administration and the reservoir project.

In 1939, Davis made his final campaign for public office as a candidate for the Fort Worth City Council on the "Citizens' Ticket." Supporters hoped that victory for the slate would position Davis for appointment as city manager, although critics attacked the proposal as an attempt to circumvent the existing system of government. Davis was defeated, bringing to a close more than thirty years of active participation in municipal politics.

Personal life

Davis married Ella P. Reynolds in Denton, Texas, on December 18, 1890. The couple had one son, Marvin Lester Davis. Ella Davis died in August 1908, and Marvin Lester Davis died of respiratory failure in Arizona in December 1927.

In November 1909, Davis married Malissa "Ola" DeOlar (Henderson) Price in a private ceremony at her home in Aubrey, Texas. Their daughter was born in 1910 but died at ten days of age in September that year. By 1920 the couple had divorced. The 1920, census recorded Davis living with his widowed sister, Emma V. Yancy, and several of her children. One of Davis's nieces, Frances Eileen Hutt, later married Thomas E. Dewey, who served as Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954 and was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in 1944 and 1948.

Davis was a member of Weatherford Street Methodist Church, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the Mystic Order of the Knights of Bovinia, where he held the title of "Ranch Boss."

Death

Davis suffered a heart attack on July 31, 1942, and was admitted to All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth. He died there on August 2 at the age of 74.

Funeral services were held at Weatherford Street Methodist Church before his burial at West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas.

Electoral history

Year	Office	Party	Opponent(s)	Result
1908	Mayor of North Fort Worth	Democratic	—	Yes Elected
1909	Mayor of Fort Worth (special election)	Democratic	R. H. McNatt (primary); unopposed in general election	Yes Elected
1911	Mayor of Fort Worth	Democratic	—	Yes Re-elected
1912	Democratic primary for Mayor of Fort Worth	Democratic	Robert F. Milam	No Lost
1914	Democratic primary for Mayor of Fort Worth	Democratic	Robert F. Milam	No Lost
1916	Democratic primary for Mayor of Fort Worth	Democratic	Robert Harrison	Yes Won nomination
1917	Mayor of Fort Worth	Democratic	R. A. McFarland (Socialist)	Yes Elected
1920	Democratic primary for Mayor of Fort Worth	Democratic	E. R. Cockrell	No Lost
1923	Mayor of Fort Worth	Independent	E. R. Cockrell	No Lost
1934	Tarrant County Judge (Democratic primary)	Democratic	Emmett Moore	No Lost
1936	Tarrant County Judge (Democratic primary)	Democratic	Dave T. Miller	No Lost (13,432–13,343)
1939	Fort Worth City Council	Citizens' Ticket	Various	No Lost

See also

• Lake Worth (Texas)
• History of Fort Worth, Texas
• List of mayors of Fort Worth, Texas