Entrepreneur and property owner Rudolph Bergfeld was a significant figure in the development of the city of Tyler. Born in Wisconsin, he apprenticed as a youth in his uncle's jewelry business in Germany, returned to the U.S. in 1874, and worked as a bookkeeper in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1878 he moved to Tyler and opened a saloon. He married Caroline "Lena" Pabst in 1880 and moved into a house he built for her. By the 1880s, he had opened a second saloon and begun work in real estate and railroad ventures, and in 1887 he helped open the Grande Opera House. By the 1890s he had turned to banking, opening Bergfeld Loan & Trust, which merged with City National Bank to create Citizens National Bank in 1900. That same year he was appointed a director of the newly created Tyler Chamber of Commerce. In 1901 he opened a second Bergfeld Loan & Trust, which consolidated with Farmers & Merchants National Bank in 1905. His real estate activities were also notable, as he actively developed property throughout the city, including the historic Azalea District, and sold land to the city for use as a park that was named in his honor. In addition to positions on banking boards, he served as chair or director of several companies and organizations, was a member of the Board of Education of Tyler Public Schools from 1906 to 1924, and belonged to fraternal organizations. He died in 1930 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. He is remembered as a community leader whose business activities contributed greatly to Tyler's growth.