A livestock deal gone awry and a simmering feud escalate into a train station shootout leaving four men dead.

---

Although Arlington was generally peaceful and law-abiding in the early 1890s, she wasn’t immune to the lingering violence of the Wild West. One notable example is the Christmas Eve Shootout of 1892.

Involving five men, the feud centered around George B. Hargrove of Bowie and Harvey W. Spear of Arlington over a livestock deal gone awry. One felt entitled, the other felt swindled, and they became embittered. Hargrove told Spear he was coming to get him, and did.

On December 23, 1892, Hargrove arrived in Arlington with his two sons, George W. and Walker, crossing paths with Spear and William “Poker Bill” Smith at the train station. Tempers flared, and the feud exploded into a gunfight. Within three minutes, three men lay dead: George W. Hargrove, Harvey Spear, and Bill Smith. The elder Hargrove died weeks later from his wounds. The lone survivor, Walker Hargrove, fled and claimed self-defense, only to perish in a gunfight at a Fort Worth saloon years later.

Despite occurring on December 23rd, it became known as the Christmas Eve Shootout since it was reported in the December 24th newspapers. The blatant violence shocked small-town Arlington, and although today feels like something from a Hollywood movie, it was a moment of tense lawlessness that shattered the town’s idyllic image.

---

Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 12-24-25