He opened the city's first school in 1854[2] followed by forming a bank, gas light company, and street railway.

A competition for the site of the Tarrant Count seat arose in 1853 between the burgeoning cities of Fort Worth and Birdville, lasting for seven years and causing several fights and fatal duels.

[1] In 1877, he donated five acres of land at the future 1500 South Main Street for the creation of a medical care facility.

Smith died in 1901 while traveling to St. Louis, Missouri to promote Fort Worth.

[6]Citizens erected a marble bust, the John Peter Smith Monument, near St. Patrick's Cathedral in his honor.