Fort Worth
Fort Worth got a rough-and-rowdy reputation early when it was settled in 1849 as an Army outpost on the fork of the Trinity River–one of eight different posts in Texas assigned to protect settlers from Indian attacks.
As this thriving town became the last major stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, it also became home to settlers and soldiers, cattle drovers and outlaws who lived it up in the legendary “Hell’s Half Acre.” In the latter half of the 1800s, the arrival of the railroad transformed Fort Worth into a major shipping center for livestock. With the construction of meat packing companies, Fort Worth became the second largest livestock market in the country. With the discovery of vast oil fields in West Texas, Fort Worth grew in importance as the last large commercial center before the prairie. It was in Fort Worth that deals were made and drilling supplies were procured. These freewheeling Western roots have given rise to the Fort Worth of today, a city with a deep sense of Western heritage that has been named All-America City twice in the past three decades.
Unlike any other, Fort Worth is a city where the Old West continues to live side by side with high-tech industry, performing and fine arts, medical centers and international business operations. The secret to Fort Worth’s success lies in each resident: contributing to the future while not turning their backs on what created this town–the spirit of the Old West.
