Fort Worth Stock Yards
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The Fort Worth Stockyards is a
historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
that is located in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, United States, north of the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
. A portion encompassing much of the district was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in 1976. It holds a former livestock market which operated under various owners from 1866.


History

The arrival of
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s in 1876 made the area a very important
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
center. Fort Worth Union Stockyards opened for business on January 19, 1890, covering 206 acres. On February 7, the Fort Worth Dressed Meat and Packing Company was founded. This facility was operated without profit until purchased by G. W. Simpson of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. In an effort to produce revenue, they reached out to the Swift and Armour companies to establish packing houses. By 1886, four stockyards had been built near the railroads. Boston capitalist Greenleif W. Simpson, with a half dozen Boston and Chicago associates, incorporated the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company on March 23, 1893, and purchased the Union Stock Yards and the Fort Worth Packing Company. The Stockyards experienced early success. By 1907, the Stockyards sold a million cattle per year. The stockyards was an organized place where cattle, sheep, and hogs could be bought, sold and slaughtered. Fort Worth remained an important part of the
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
industry until the 1950s. Business suffered due to livestock auctions held closer to where the livestock were originally produced.


Today

The Fort Worth Stockyards now celebrates Fort Worth's long tradition as a part of the cattle industry and was listed on the National Register as a historical district in 1976. The listing included 46
contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
and one other
contributing structure In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distr ...
.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...
s within the district include the entrance sign, the Livestock Exchange Building, and the Thannisch Block Building housing the Stockyards Hotel. State Antiquities Landmarks also include the entrance sign as well as the Armour & Swift Plaza and the Cowtown Coliseum. The Stockyards consist of mainly entertainment and shopping venues that capitalize on the "Cowtown" image of Fort Worth. Home to the famous boot making company M.L. Leddy's which is located in the heart of the Stockyards and The Maverick Fine Western Wear and Saloon where customers "can 'belly up' to the bar, relax and have a cold beer while in the Stockyards; just like they did in the days of the big cattle drives", as they shop around the store. The city of Fort Worth is often referred to as "Where the West Begins." Many bars and
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
s (including
Billy Bob's Texas Billy Bob's Texas is a country music nightclub located in the Fort Worth Stockyards, Texas, United States. It promotes itself as "The World's Largest Honky Tonk," at 100,000 square feet of interior space and nearly 20 acres of parking space. His ...
) are located in the vicinity, and the area has a Western motif. There is also an opry and the weekend
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
s at
Cowtown Coliseum Cowtown Coliseum is a 2,400-seat arena in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, that hosts weekly rodeos. It also occasionally hosts concerts and local team sporting events. The venue was built in 1908 and was originally known as Grand Coliseum. Part ...
. Some volunteers still run the cattle drives through the stockyards, a practice developed in the late 19th century by the frontiersman
Charles "Buffalo" Jones Charles Jesse Jones, known as "Buffalo Jones" (January 31, 1844 – October 1, 1919), was an American frontiersman, farmer, rancher, hunter, conservationist, and politician. He cofounded Garden City, Kansas. He has been cited by the National A ...
, who herded
buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
calves through the streets of
Garden City, Kansas Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...
. A reenactment of a 19th-century cattle drive took place in 1999 as part of the city's
sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...
celebration. Weather permitting, drives continue to be held twice daily except on certain holidays. On April 1, 2011, the Fort Worth Stockyards Stables were remodeled and reopened. They are located next door to the Hyatt hotel in an original Historic Stockyards building that was built in 1912. Moved to the Armour building after the 2015 remodel. The stables offers horse rentals on the open trails of the Trinity River and carriage rides. The
Grapevine Vintage Railroad The Grapevine Vintage Railroad (GVRR) is an excursion and special event railroad in Grapevine, Texas, USA, that runs from the Grapevine–Main Street station in Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards. GVRR is owned and operated by the City of Gra ...
runs a
heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...
service between Grapevine–Main Street station and the Stockyards.


Gallery

File:Longhorn cattle in the Fort Worth Stockyards November 2022 looking straight at the camera.jpg, Longhorn cattle in the Fort Worth Stockyards November 2022 looking straight at the camera File:Longhorn rancher in the Fort Worth Stockyards November 2022.jpg, Longhorn cattle rancher in the Fort Worth Stockyards November 2022 File:Stockyards4.JPG, White Elephant Saloon File:Stockyards3.JPG, General Store and Trading Post, Star Café File:Fort Worth Stockyards.jpg, Cattle pens File:Fort Worth Stockyards June 2016 67 (Grapevine Vintage Railroad).jpg, Grapevine Vintage Railroad at the Stockyards File:Aeroplane View of Stockyards (10011976).jpg, Postcard with an aerial view of the Stockyards, undated


See also

* List of Neighborhoods in Fort Worth, Texas *
Grapevine Vintage Railroad The Grapevine Vintage Railroad (GVRR) is an excursion and special event railroad in Grapevine, Texas, USA, that runs from the Grapevine–Main Street station in Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards. GVRR is owned and operated by the City of Gra ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Tarrant County, Texas This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Tarrant County, Texas. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Tarrant County, Texas. T ...
* Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Tarrant County


References


External links

* *
Architecture in Fort Worth: North Side
{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas Neighborhoods in Fort Worth, Texas History of Fort Worth, Texas Economy of Fort Worth, Texas American frontier Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Fort Worth, Texas Tourist attractions in Tarrant County, Texas Mission Revival architecture in Texas Spanish Revival architecture in the United States Meat processing in the United States Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Rodeo venues in the United States