Kelleher Farm
I lived less than a mile from the Kelleher Farm for more than 19 years, from 2005 to 2024. It was a joy to leave the city’s hustle and bustle and return home to our place on Randol Mill Road — an area that had remained agricultural for millennia, at least until 2022, when farmers began selling their land to investors. Kelleher Farm is owned by Mary Kelleher, an at-large member of the Tarrant Regional Water District. The property sits on Randol Mill Road east of I-820 and north of I-30, just a short distance from Cooks Lane. Her 12-acre farm lies within a floodplain near the Trinity River and has endured repeated flooding — particularly after Hurricane Hermine — which she believes was worsened by a natural gas pipeline installed nearby. While there, we experienced a 100-year flood on August 21-22, 2022, due to torrential rains that fell for days for leading to the Trinity River overflowing into the floodplain and streets, leaving one way in and one way out from Randoll Mill Road. Over the years, the farm has suffered flooding-related losses to livestock, including llamas, sheep, and chickens. According to Kelleher, the construction of the pipeline involved re-grading that elevated portions of the land, creating a “dam” effect that prevents proper drainage. From an engineering and city-planning standpoint, the issue has raised major concerns. Kelleher and local residents have argued that ongoing development — new housing, roads, and other projects — is intensifying flooding in the area. Fort Worth’s stormwater department and development planning documents have also noted this stretch of Randol Mill Road, describing it as “mostly rural” but facing increasing development pressure.

Randol's Mill
Today, Kelleher Farm sits on Randol Mill Road, a major thoroughfare that runs from east Fort Worth, north of Interstate 30, into Arlington. Arlington residents may also recognize the name from Randol Mill Park, which lies along the same roadway. Long before it became the name of a road or a public park, however, Randol Mill referred to something much older.

Anyone who knows me knows my fascination with historic cotton, grain, and grist mills — especially since my great-grandfather Bartholemew operated the first flour mill in Whitlock, Tennessee. Randol Mill was once one of those early mills: a grain mill located off Precinct Line Road near the Trinity River. Originally called Leonard’s Mill, it was built in 1856 by Archibald F. Leonard, who also constructed a dam at the site. The mill stood north of what is now Randol Mill Road and west of Precinct Line Road

Mary Kelleher shared that if you climb down the bank toward the river, the mill site is still accessible, and remnants — including one of the wheels — can be seen. A historical marker once stood there, but it was removed when the gas company installed a pipeline through the area.
Powered by a water-driven turbine, the grist mill operated a circular saw and a cotton gin, producing ground grain, cornmeal, and later flour, according to the University of North Texas Libraries. The mill was burned down in 1860 during abolitionist unrest, but it reopened two years later and continued operating throughout the Civil War.

Ownership changed hands in 1867, when H.B. Alverson and J.H. Wheeler took over and renamed it Wheeler’s Mill. In 1876, R.A. “Bob” Randol acquired the property, giving it the name Randol’s Mill. Randol, born in Virginia, moved to Texas as a young man and spent more than forty years in Tarrant County. He owned extensive land in and around Arlington and was buried in Arlington Cemetery after his death in 1922, according to his Star-Telegram funeral notice.

Because of its shaded riverside location, Randol’s Mill became a popular gathering place for church events, reunions, and large picnics, the City of Arlington notes. In 1933, a fire accidentally started by a picnic visitor destroyed the mill, and it was never rebuilt.