Ft. Worth, Texas or Cowtown became famous for its stockyards. The Ft. Worth Herd began in its daily cattle drives through the streets of the historic Stockyards in 1999. The Ft. Worth herd is comprised of the iconic Longhorn cattle.
Cattle played an important part of the economy of Ft Worth first with cattle trails like the Chisholm trails. With the arrival of the railroad in 1876 Ft. Worth became a major shipping center for cattle. In the early 1990’s, Armour and Swift companies opened meat packing house in the stockyards. The Livestock Exchange built in 1902 soon became known as “the Wall Street of the West“. In 1917 (WWI) the Ft. Worth Stockyards was the largest horse and mule market in the world. Business in The Stockyards hit its peak during World War II. With the rise of the trucking industry after WWII the stockyards begin to decline and hit an all-time low in 1986. In 1976, The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historical District was created. Today the cattle pens of the Stockyards now house many unique shops and restaurants.
Ft. Worth has come a long way from its roots as U.S. Army Outpost on the Western frontier and wild cattle town. Today it is the 17th largest city in the United States. It has several museums and cultural venues including the Bass Performance Hall and the Kimbell Art Museum. One my favorites is the Ft. Worth Botanic Garden located near the Trinity River and as bonus most of it is free. TCU, Texas Wesleyan University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Tarrant County College all call Ft. Worth home. For a taste of Ft. Worth visit the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Ft. Worth Weekend page.
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The Dee Zone 
Those Texas Longhorns are beautiful!!!
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Yes, they are gorgeous beasts & remind me of countless western movies. What an interesting history Fort Worth has.
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How great to know that a little piece of tradition has been renewed.
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I think I would have stayed away from those horns. Thank you for the history lesson.
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Interesting history…
Busy streets… Messy streets…
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Most interesting pics and comments!
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That photo has a quality of ‘stepping back into time.’ Thanks, too, for the history lesson!
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Gemma in AZ, Donald, & Gemma;
Cabacurl: Ty yes it does.
R: Yes the horns are to be avoided but those cattle are actually pretty gentle.
Kim: Yes, it is like stepping back in time. The Stockyards represents FW’s past and is in sharp contrast to the urban city center with just a few blocks S of there.
Liz: That is just one piece of living history in the Stockyards. The last gunfight is also re-enacted daily, the police in the Stockyards patrol the street on horse back and traditional cowboy attire. The Trantuala Steam Engine runs out of the Stockyard station. While it isn’t in the Stockyards the Log Cabin Village is a living history museum complete with a working grist mill and docents who wear period attire.
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I am glad our cows weren’t Texas Longhorns – though I guess you get used to it.
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Impressive horns 🙂
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Now that is a cool shot for F Dee. I like it.
The photo I took of the whale is at Disneyland Anaheim, the Pinocchio ride :0)
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cowtowns – something completely unfamiliar to us in my town
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Aileni: Most people in Texas don’t raise longhorns either. The purpose of this herd is to preserve FW’s western heritage. My Granddady raised Angus.
Ivar: Yes, they are
verivaki: Cowtown is the nickname for FT. Worth because of its early days as a hub for cattle trails, railroad shipping point and meat packing plants.
Ellen: Oh, yes I forgot about the Pinocchio ride. Only been to Disneyland once in the 1980’s. However I been to WDW many times. Oh, I have an interview next week.
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A Fact-Filled post about Ft. Worth and its stockyards.
Fantastic choice for ABC Wednesday letter F.
Bear((( )))
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Across the state of Texas there increasing numbers of herds of longhorns and buffalo.
A pound of buffalo meat costs over $30.00 (thirty) per pound.
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I enjoyed reading about Ft. Worth cattledrives and the history of the area. Thanks for enlightning me, great photos.
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hi, like much of this information, great post.
hugs, Denise
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Bear, Columbo, & Denise: TY
Polly: Didn’t know that.
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Great post. I have seen this once and it is really cool
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Tommy V: TY it is very cool.
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I always enjoy a history lesson. Now the horns I would stay far away from. Would hate to try to stop one of them boys. Who picks up the left overs?
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Rev. Josh,
The cattle are actually rather mild manner and used to being around people. Not sure who cleans up.
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It is always important to respect and celebrate our history.
Lovely post.
Thanks.
Dx
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Denise: TY, we celebrate a lot of history in our how. The Big Guy is getting is PhD in American History (Colonial)
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There are a few longhorns near here. I don’t know what they are doing in Washington–somewhat out of their element.
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Katney: That is interesting. They are a hardy breed that can survive just about anywhere.
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cool looking cattle. 🙂 love the horns.
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Very cool! I love the pic, too! Thank you for mentioning good old Cowtown in your Zone!!!
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Kouji & Kim: TY
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I‘m sure many of you are like me and one of the first things you do in the morning is head here and check out the new post. Along with seeing the new posts, I’m also always checking out the blog roll rss feed and watching them grow, or shrink sometimes. In one of my past …but all in all excellent site. Keep it up!
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