Photograph of the deacon body and a class of pastors of the Rockwall First Baptist Church in 1955. Several men, dressed in suits and arranged in two rows, are seated on couches and chairs in a decorated room.

Photograph of the junior department in the Rockwall First Baptist Church, seated together in fours in a small room. Two rows of adults stand in the back. Numerous children make up the front four rows, smiling and facing the camera. A paper attached to the back numbers and identifies the people in the image.

Funeral program for William Madison McDonald, born June 22, 1866 and died July 5, 1950. The funeral was held on July 5, 1950 at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, officiated by Rev. S. R. Prince. Funeral arrangements were made through Polk and Bailey Funeral Home Directors and he was buried in Old Trinity Cemetery, now Oakwood Cemetery, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Photograph of Ralph W. Thornton posing with his coupe, possibly a 1954 Ford Sunliner, parked in the driveway of his house. He leans against the passenger-side door and smiles widely, suburban homes visible behind him.

Booklet providing information about the Deliverer Life Insurance Company, one of the first life insurance companies for Black people in Fort Worth. It includes background about the establishment of the company; a list of employees with portraits and information about affiliations and experience; and a table of insurance premiums sorted by age.

Directory of Black churches in the Fort Worth area with photographs, addresses, congregation sizes, and short histories and descriptions. The churches are organized alphabetically, by denomination, with a table of contents on page 2.

Photograph of a 3rd anniversary celebration for Reverend C. A. Holliday at the Greater St. James Baptist Church. Rev. Holliday is standing in front of a wooden pulpit along other church leaders and choir members standing in rows behind him. A thermometer measuring cash donated for the church building fund has been placed between large bouquets of flowers in front of the pulpit, and a banner for Rev. Holliday is hung along the back wall of the church.

Photograph of the Mary Louise and Ralph W. Thornton house on 2764 Nies Street, Fort Worth. The house is a single story-home with a small square porch in front of the front door, its windows covered with awnings printed with the letter T on the front. A dark-colored car is parked in front of a garage along the right wall of the house, accessible from the road by a gravel path, and bushes and small plants are planted in the front lawn and along the front of the building.

Photograph of the groundbreaking ceremony for the First National Bank building on the corner of Wall and Colorado streets in Midland. Two men, A.N. Hendrickson (left) and John P. Butler (right), bend down and hold shovels thrust into the dirt of an empty building lot, surrounded by a crowd of men in hats, ties, and suits. The Petroleum Building with its Shell sign is visible in the background. The men in the crowd, from left to right, are: E. B. Dickenson, Joe Crump, O. C. Harper, Foy Proctor, Frank Cowden, Mrs. M C. Ulmer, Dr. John B. Thomas, J. T. Baker, C. J. Kelly, Mrs. Clarence Scharbauer, Paul Davis, W. F. Hejl, Clarence Scharbauer, Jr., a contract member, Jack Wood (assistant architect), and George Dahl (main architect).

Photograph of "rodeo coffee" meeting arranged by the Midland Woman's Club. Women with cowboy hats are seated behind a table with a selection of food and small cups throughout. Another row of women stand behind, looking towards the photographer. A list of names is written on the back of the photograph.

Photograph of industrial implements around a large oil well in Midland, Texas. Notes on the back indicate that the well is being re-fracked. Numerous trucks loaded with equipment are piped to each other in front of the well. Caption on the back: "Woods #1 5/56 Re-Frac. 40,000 gals @ 3# sd. Cost about $12,000. Tubing standing in work-over rig. Dowells 6 or $800,000 worth of equipment Not all equipment shown 4-500 Bbl. tanks not shown. Tank batter right hand (upper corner." [sic]

Aerial photograph of downtown Midland facing the west, taken between 1956 and 1958. The Midland County Courthouse is visible at center right: a compact white building surrounded by a lawn and a parking lot. To the right (north) of the courthouse is the Petroleum Building and the McClintic Building (above the Petroleum Building; west). The large building under construction at left is the Wilco Building, its lower floors complete. Main Street spans along the far bottom of the image with its storefronts.

Aerial photograph of western Midland, looking northwest. The large curving road running through the center of the photograph is the Andrews Highway, which terminates at a junction with Wall Street, the road that spans across the bottom half of the picture. Along the corner of Wall and Andrews (center of image) is the Village Shopping Center, which includes several strip malls and stores. As Andrew Highway curves to the east, it approaches the Midland Hospital, the white multistory building right of center. Three blocks above the hospital is the First Baptist Church with its steeple and chapel. Suburbs and neighborhoods are scattered around the major roads.

Aerial photograph of the Midland Hospital, the multistory building on Illinois Avenue at center-left. The curving road that spans the image is the Andrews Highway, along which are multiple buildings. A large baseball diamond is at right, down Illinois Avenue. Suburbs spread out across the background.

Photograph of the Midland County sheriff's posse on horseback, depicted in three rows on a large fenced-in field. Each officer wears hats, a ribbon around their necks, and white shirts.

Photograph of the Midland County sheriff's posse, depicted in two rows in front of a long stable-like wooden building. The back row stands and the front row sits below, and all men wear hats, a ribbon around their necks, and white shirts.

Photograph of the 100 block of North Main Street in Midland, along which are multiple storefronts and cars parked obliquely along the curb of the road. Some stores visible include the S&Q Clothiers (left), Harris-Luckett Stores (center), Midland Hardware and Furniture Company (center, three-story building), and a jewelry store (right).

Photograph of the 100 block of North Main Street in Midland, along which are multiple storefronts and cars parked obliquely along the curb of the road. Some stores visible include the Dunlap Department Store and Ritz Theatre, (left), S&Q Clothiers, J. C. Penny, Freeman Shoes, and F. W. Woolworth (right). A group of people cross the road at center left.

Photograph of the Scharbauer Hotel and the 200 block of West Wall Street in Midland, along which are numerous storefronts and cars parked along the curb. The Scharbauer Hotel, the six-story building in the background, has a large sign bearing the hotel's name along the northwest corner of the structure. The storefronts contain a furniture store, a bowling alley (center), an office supply building (two-story building with the Masonic square and compasses symbol above the "1909" sign), and an office building (rightmost).

Photograph of of a mesquite control project demonstration, at "J.E. (Bob) Hill's Old Pan Place". Several workers and businessmen stand in front of a turned-up dirt field, construction equipment behind them.

Aerial photograph of the Village Shopping Center, a set of strip malls, commercial buildings, and adjoining parking lots at the intersection of Wall Street and Andrews Highway. Houses and suburban developments are to the north of the shopping center, and the El Campo Moderno Courts is to the south, along Wall Street in the lower left. Commercial buildings are built along Andrews Highway, which curves to the northwest.

Photograph of the Petroleum Building in Midland, which has a Gothic-like facade with short spires and textured elements along the top edge of the building. Between each window are small ornamental relief pieces, and along the ground floor, the windows and entryways are widely arched with subtle and decorative tracery elements surrounding each arch. The similarly-styled Yucca Theater, to the north of the Petroleum Building, is far shorter but also has Gothic-like decoration along its front facade. Numerous cars are parked along the streets and in the parking lot in front of the Petroleum Building, which is for the county courthouse.

Photograph of downtown Midland, Texas, east facing up. The Midland County Courthouse is visible just above center, a small four-story building surrounded by grass lawns. To the north is the Petroleum Building, which is partially obscured by the Western United Life Building, a tall 12-story concrete building. Main Street and some hotels lie to the east of the courthouse, distinguished by narrow and long storefronts lining the city streets. Front Street and the railroad diagonally cuts across the upper corner of the photograph. To the west, closer to the bottom, is the First National building under construction, with two stories complete and several still under construction. To the south (right) is the tall Wilco Building.

Aerial photograph of Midland, Texas, in 1956, north facing up. The Midland County Courthouse, a small rectangular building, is visible right of center, with the Petroleum Building to the north, and Main Street to the southeast. East of the courthouse is the Wilco Building, currently under construction and half completed. Midland Senior High School, composed of two buildings along two city blocks, is to the northwest of the Wilco Building. Commercial buildings and parking lots occupy the blocks of the lower half of the image, while to the north there are more suburbs and smaller buildings.