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Fort Worth, Texas
City
City of Fort Worth
Top to bottom, left to right: Fort Worth skyline, Fort Worth Public Library, St. Patrick Cathedral, Fort Worth Fire Station No. 1, Eddleman–McFarland House, Paddock Viaduct
Flag Seal Logo of Fort Worth
Nicknames:  Cowtown,[1] Panther City, Funkytown, Metairie of Texas, Queen City of the Prairie[2]
Motto(s):  "Where the West begins";[1] "Crossroads of Cowboys & Culture"
Location of Fort Worth in Tarrant County, Texas
Fort Worth Location in the United States
Coordinates: 32°45′N 97°20′W / 32.750°N 97.333°W / 32.750; -97.333Coordinates: 32°45′N 97°20′W / 32.750°N 97.333°W / 32.750; -97.333
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Tarrant, Denton, Parker, Wise[3]
Incorporated	1873[4]
Named for	William J. Worth
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Body	Fort Worth City Council
• Mayor	Betsy Price (R)
• City Manager	David Cooke
• City Council	List • Carlos Flores • W. B. "Zim" Zimmerman • Carry Moon • Gyna Bivens • Jungus Jordan • Dennis Shingleton • Kelly Allen Gray • Ann Zadeh
Area
• City	349.2 sq mi (904.4 km2)
• Land	342.2 sq mi (886.3 km2)
• Water	7.0 sq mi (18.1 km2)
Elevation	653 ft (216 m)
Population (2017)[5]
• City	874,168 (US: 15th)
• Density	2,181.0/sq mi (842.0/km2)
• Metro	7,102,796 (US: 4th)
• Demonym	Fort Worthian
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	76120, 76008, 76028, 76036, 76101-76124, 76126-76127, 76130-76137, 76140, 76147-76148, 76150, 76155, 76161-76164, 76166, 76177, 76179, 76180-76182, 76185, 76191-76193, 76195-76199, 76244, 76247, 76262, 76129 (exclusive to TCU), 76107
Area codes	Area codes 682 and 817
FIPS code	48-27000
GNIS feature ID	1380947[6]
Primary Airport	Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport DFW (Major/International)
Interstates
U.S. Routes
Commuter Rail	(Under Construction)
Website	fortworthtexas.gov

Fort Worth is the 15th-largest city in the United States and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas.^[7] It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly 350 square miles (910 km²) into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker and Wise. According to the 2017 census estimates, Fort Worth's population is 874,168.^[5] The city is the second-largest in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area (the "DFW Metroplex"), which is the 4th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.^[8]

Fort Worth was established in 1849 as an army outpost on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. It still embraces its Western heritage and traditional architecture and design.^[9][10]USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) is the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city.^[11]

Fort Worth is home to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and several world-class museums designed by internationally known contemporary architects. The Kimbell Art Museum, considered to have one of the best collections in Texas, is housed in what is widely regarded as one of the state's foremost works of modern architecture, designed by Louis Kahn with an addition by Renzo Piano. Also of note is the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, designed by Tadao Ando. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art, designed by Philip Johnson, houses one of the world's most extensive collections of American art. The Sid Richardson Museum, redesigned by David M. Schwarz, has one of the most focused collections of Western art in the U.S., emphasizing Frederic Remington and Charles Russell.

The city is stimulated by several university communities: Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan, University of North Texas Health Science Center, and Texas A&M University School of Law, and many multinational corporations, including Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, American Airlines, BNSF Railway, Pier 1 Imports, XTO Energy and RadioShack.

History

Treaty of Bird's Fort

Fort Worth Texas Historical Marker

The Treaty of Bird's Fort between the Republic of Texas and several Native American tribes was signed in 1843 at Bird's Fort in present-day Arlington, Texas.^[12][13] Article XI of the treaty provided that no one may "pass the line of trading houses" (at the border of the Indians' territory) without permission of the President of Texas, and may not reside or remain in the Indians' territory. These "trading houses" were later established at the junction of the Clear Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River in present-day Fort Worth.^[14] At this river junction, the U.S. War Department established Fort Worth in 1849 as the northernmost of a system of 10 forts for protecting the American Frontier following the end of the Mexican–American War.^[15] The City of Fort Worth continues to be known as "where the West begins."^[16]

Mexican–American War

Lithograph (1876)

A line of seven army posts were established in 1848–49 after the Mexican War to protect the settlers of Texas along the western American Frontier and included Fort Worth, Fort Graham, Fort Gates, Fort Croghan, Fort Martin Scott, Fort Lincoln, and Fort Duncan.^[17] Originally 10 forts had been proposed by Major General William Jenkins Worth (1794–1849), who commanded the Department of Texas in 1849. In January 1849, Worth proposed a line of 10 forts to mark the western Texas frontier from Eagle Pass to the confluence of the West Fork and Clear Fork of the Trinity River. One month later, Worth died from cholera in South Texas.^[17]

General William S. Harney assumed command of the Department of Texas and ordered Major Ripley A. Arnold (Company F, Second United States Dragoons)^[17] to find a new fort site near the West Fork and Clear Fork. On June 6, 1849, Arnold, advised by Middleton Tate Johnson, established a camp on the bank of the Trinity River and named the post Camp Worth in honor of the late General Worth. In August 1849, Arnold moved the camp to the north-facing bluff, which overlooked the mouth of the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. The United States War Department officially named the post Fort Worth on November 14, 1849.^[18]

Native American attacks were still a threat in the area, as this was their traditional territory and they resented encroachment by European-American settlers, but people from the United States set up homesteads near the fort. E. S. Terrell (1812–1905) from Tennessee claimed to be the first resident of Fort Worth.^[19] The fort was flooded the first year and moved to the top of the bluff; the current courthouse was built on this site. The fort was abandoned September 17, 1853.^[17] No trace of it remains.

Town development

As a stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, Fort Worth was stimulated by the business of the cattle drives and became a brawling, bustling town. Millions of head of cattle were driven north to market along this trail. Fort Worth became the center of the cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry. It was given the nickname of Cowtown.^[20]

Panoramic map of Fort Worth from 1891 including borders with depictions of landmark buildings

During the Civil War, Fort Worth suffered from shortages of money, food, and supplies. The population dropped as low as 175, but began to recover during Reconstruction.
By 1872, Jacob Samuels, William Jesse Boaz, and William Henry Davis had opened general stores. The next year, Khleber M. Van Zandt established Tidball, Van Zandt, and Company, which became Fort Worth National Bank in 1884.

Panther City and Hell's Half Acre

In 1875, the Dallas Herald published an article by a former Fort Worth lawyer, Robert E. Cowart, who wrote that the decimation of Fort Worth's population, caused by the economic disaster and hard winter of 1873, had dealt a severe blow to the cattle industry. Added to the slowdown due to the railroad's stopping the laying of track 30 miles (48 km) outside of Fort Worth, Cowart said that Fort Worth was so slow that he saw a panther asleep in the street by the courthouse. Although an intended insult, the name Panther City was enthusiastically embraced when in 1876 Fort Worth recovered economically.^[21] Many businesses and organizations continue to use Panther in their name. A panther is set at the top of the police department badges.^[22]

Entrance to Fort Worth Stockyards, 1999

The "Panther City" tradition is also preserved in the names and design of some of the city's geographical/architectural features, such as Panther Island (in the Trinity River), the Flat Iron Building, the Intermodal Transportation Center, and in two or three "Sleeping Panther" statues.
In 1876, the Texas and Pacific Railway finally was completed to Fort Worth, stimulating a boom and transforming the Fort Worth Stockyards into a premier center for the cattle wholesale trade.^[23] Migrants from the devastated war-torn South continued to swell the population, and small, community factories and mills yielded to larger businesses. Newly dubbed the "Queen City of the Prairies",^[24] Fort Worth supplied a regional market via the growing transportation network.

Texas and Pacific Passenger Station, Fort Worth, Texas (postcard, circa 1909)

Fort Worth became the westernmost railhead and a transit point for cattle shipment. Louville Niles, a Boston, Massachusetts-based businessman and main shareholder of the Fort Worth Stockyards Company is credited with bringing the two biggest meat packing firms at the time, Armour and Swift, to the stockyards.^[25]

With the boom times came a variety of entertainments and related problems. Fort Worth had a knack for separating cattlemen from their money. Cowboys took full advantage of their last brush with civilization before the long drive on the Chisholm Trail from Fort Worth up north to Kansas. They stocked up on provisions from local merchants, visited saloons for a bit of gambling and carousing, then galloped northward with their cattle only to whoop it up again on their way back. The town soon became home to "Hell's Half-Acre", the biggest collection of saloons, dance halls, and bawdy houses south of Dodge City (the northern terminus of the Chisholm Trail), giving Fort Worth the nickname of "The Paris of the Plains".^[26][27]

Certain sections of town were off-limits for proper citizens. Shootings, knifings, muggings, and brawls became a nightly occurrence. Cowboys were joined by a motley assortment of buffalo hunters, gunmen, adventurers, and crooks. Hell's Half Acre (also known as simply "The Acre") expanded as more people were drawn to the town. Occasionally, the Acre was referred to as "the bloody Third Ward" after it was designated one of the city's three political wards in 1876. By 1900, the Acre covered four of the city's main north-south thoroughfares.^[28] Local citizens became alarmed about the activities, electing Timothy Isaiah "Longhair Jim" Courtright in 1876 as city marshal with a mandate to tame it.

Courtright sometimes collected and jailed 30 people on a Saturday night, but allowed the gamblers to operate, as they attracted money to the city. After learning that train and stagecoach robbers, such as the Sam Bass gang, were using the area as a hideout, he intensified law enforcement, but certain businessmen advertised against too many restrictions in the area as having bad effects on the legitimate businesses. Gradually, the cowboys began to avoid the area; as businesses suffered, the city moderated its opposition. Courtright lost his office in 1879.^[28]

Despite crusading mayors such as H. S. Broiles and newspaper editors such as B. B. Paddock, the Acre survived because it generated income for the city (all of it illegal) and excitement for visitors. Longtime Fort Worth residents claimed the place was never as wild as its reputation, but during the 1880s, Fort Worth was a regular stop on the "gambler's circuit"^[28] by Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, and the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil). James Earp, the eldest of his brothers, lived with his wife in Fort Worth during this period; their house was at the edge of Hell's Half Acre, at 9th and Calhoun. He often tended bar at the Cattlemen's Exchange saloon in the "uptown" part of the city.^[29]

Reforming citizens objected to the dance halls, where men and women mingled; by contrast, the saloons or gambling parlors had primarily male customers.

In the late 1880s, Mayor Broiles and County Attorney R. L. Carlock initiated a reform campaign. In a public shootout on February 8, 1887, Jim Courtright was killed on Main Street by Luke Short, who claimed he was "King of Fort Worth Gamblers."^[28] As Courtright had been popular, when Short was jailed for his murder, rumors floated of lynching him. Short's good friend Bat Masterson came armed and spent the night in his cell to protect him.

The first prohibition campaign in Texas was mounted in Fort Worth in 1889, allowing other business and residential development in the area. Another change was the influx of black residents. Excluded by state segregation from the business end of town and the more costly residential areas, the city's black citizens settled into the southern portion of the city. The popularity and profitability of the Acre declined and more derelicts and the homeless were seen on the streets. By 1900, most of the dance halls and gamblers were gone. Cheap variety shows and prostitution became the chief forms of entertainment. Some politicians sought reforms under the Progressive Era.^[28]

President Kennedy in Fort Worth on Friday morning, November 22, 1963. He was assassinated in Dallas later in the day.

In 1911, the Reverend J. Frank Norris launched an offensive against racetrack gambling in the Baptist Standard and used the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Fort Worth to attack vice and prostitution. When he began to link certain Fort Worth businessmen with property in the Acre and announce their names from his pulpit, the battle heated up. On February 4, 1912, Norris's church was burned to the ground; that evening, his enemies tossed a bundle of burning oiled rags onto his porch, but the fire was extinguished and caused minimal damage. A month later, the arsonists succeeded in burning down the parsonage. In a sensational trial lasting a month, Norris was charged with perjury and arson in connection with the two fires. He was acquitted, but his continued attacks on the Acre accomplished little until 1917. A new city administration and the federal government, which was eyeing Fort Worth as a potential site for a major military training camp, joined forces with the Baptist preacher to bring down the final curtain on the Acre.

The police department compiled statistics showing that 50% of the violent crime in Fort Worth occurred in the Acre, which confirmed respectable citizens' opinion of the area. After Camp Bowie (a World War I Army training installation) was located on the outskirts of Fort Worth in 1917, the military used martial law to regulate prostitutes and barkeepers of the Acre. Fines and stiff jail sentences curtailed their activities. By the time Norris held a mock funeral parade to "bury John Barleycorn" in 1919, the Acre had become a part of Fort Worth history. The name continues to be associated with the southern end of Fort Worth.^[30]

Late 20th and early 21st centuries

1920 panorama

On March 28, 2000, at 6:15 pm, an F3 tornado struck downtown Fort Worth downtown, severely damaging many buildings. One of the hardest-hit structures was the Bank One Tower, which was one of the dominant features of the Fort Worth skyline and which had Reata, a popular restaurant, on its top floor. It has since been converted to upscale condominiums and officially renamed "The Tower". This was the first major tornado to strike Fort Worth proper since the early 1940s.^[31]

When oil began to gush in West Texas in the early 20th century, and again in the late 1970s, Fort Worth was at the center of the wheeling and dealing. In July 2007, advances in horizontal drilling technology made vast natural gas reserves in the Barnett Shale available directly under the city, helping many residents receive royalty checks for their mineral rights.^{[citation needed]} Today, the city of Fort Worth and many residents are dealing with the benefits and issues associated with the natural gas reserves under ground.^[32][33]

Fort Worth was the fastest-growing large city in the United States from 2000 to 2006^[34] and was voted one of "America's Most Livable Communities."^[35]

View of downtown from the West 7th district, June 2010

Geography

Fort Worth is located in North Texas, and has a generally humid subtropical climate.^[36] It is part of the Cross Timbers region;^[37] this region is a boundary between the more heavily forested eastern parts and the rolling hills and prairies of the central part. Specifically, the city is part of the Grand Prairie ecoregion within the Cross Timbers.

The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex is the hub of the North Texas region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 349.2 square miles (904 km²), of which 342.2 square miles (886 km²) is land and 7.0 square miles (18 km²) is covered by water.

A large storage dam was completed in 1914 on the West Fork of the Trinity River, 7 miles (11 km) from the city, with a storage capacity of 33,495 acre feet of water.^[38] The lake formed by this dam is known as Lake Worth.

The city is not entirely contiguous and has several enclaves, practical enclaves, semi-enclaves and cities that are otherwise completely or nearly surrounded by it, including: Westworth Village, River Oaks, Saginaw, Blue Mound, Benbrook, Everman, Forest Hill, Edgecliff Village, Westover Hills, White Settlement, Sansom Park, Lake Worth, Lakeside, and Haslet.

Natural gas wells

The city of Fort Worth contains over 1000 natural gas wells (December 2009 count) tapping the Barnett Shale. Each well site is a bare patch of gravel 2–5 acres (8,100–20,200 m²) in size. As city ordinances permit them in all zoning categories, including residential, well sites can be found in a variety of locations. Some wells are surrounded by masonry fences, but most are secured by chain link.

Neighborhoods

Skyline of Fort Worth from Amon Carter Museum of American Art

Stockyards

The Fort Worth Stockyards are a National Historic District. The Stockyards was once among the largest livestock markets in the United States and played a vital role in the city's early growth. Today the neighborhood is characterized by its many bars, restaurants, and notable country music venues such as Billy Bob's. Fort Worth celebrity chef Tim Love of Iron Chef America and Top Chef Masters operates multiple restaurants in the neighborhood.

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is a district on the western end of Downtown Fort Worth. It is bound roughly by Henderson Street to the east, the Trinity River to the west, Interstate 30 to the south, and White Settlement Road to the north. The neighborhood contains several small and mid-sized office buildings and urban residences, but very little retail.

Tanglewood

Tanglewood consists of land in the low areas along the branch of the Trinity River and is approximately five miles southwest from the Fort Worth Central Business District. The Tanglewood area lies within two surveys. The western part of the addition being part of the 1854 Felix G. Beasley Survey, and the eastern part, along the branch of the river, the 1876 James Howard Survey. The original approach to the Tanglewood area consisted of a two-rut dirt road which is now Bellaire Drive South. Up to the time of development, children enjoyed swimming in the river in a deep hole which was located where the bridge is now on Bellaire Drive South near Trinity Commons Shopping Center. The portions of Tanglewood which are now Bellaire Park Court, Marquette Court and Autumn Court were originally a dairy farm.

Architecture

Sundance Square Plaza.

Downtown Fort Worth, with its unique rustic architecture, is mainly known for its Art Deco-style buildings. The Tarrant County Courthouse was created in the American Beaux Arts design, which was modeled after the Texas State Capitol building. Most of the structures around Sundance Square have preserved their early 20th-century façades.

Climate

Fort Worth has a humid subtropical climate according to the Köppen climate classification system^[39] and is within USDA hardiness zone 8a. The hottest month of the year is July, when the average high temperature is 95 °F (35.0 °C), and overnight low temperatures average 72 °F (22.2 °C), giving an average temperature of 84 °F (28.9 °C).^[40] The coldest month of the year is January, when the average high temperature is 55 °F (12.8 °C) and low temperatures average 31 °F (−0.6 °C).^[40] The average temperature in January is 43 °F (6 °C).^[40] The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort Worth is 113 °F (45.0 °C), on June 26, 1980, during the Great 1980 Heat Wave,^[41] and June 27, 1980.^[42] The coldest temperature ever recorded in Fort Worth was −8 °F (−22.2 °C) on February 12, 1899.^[43] Because of its position in North Texas, Fort Worth is very susceptible to supercell thunderstorms, which produce large hail and can produce tornadoes.

The average annual precipitation for Fort Worth is 34.01 inches (863.9 mm).^[40] The wettest month of the year is May, when an average of 4.58 inches (116.3 mm) of precipitation falls.^[40] The driest month of the year is January, when only 1.70 inches (43.2 mm) of precipitation falls.^[40] The driest calendar year since records began has been 1921 with 17.91 inches (454.9 mm) and the wettest 2015 with 62.61 inches (1,590.3 mm). The wettest calendar month has been April 1922 with 17.64 inches (448.1 mm), including 8.56 inches (217.4 mm) on April 25.

The average annual snowfall in Fort Worth is 2.6 inches (66.0 mm).^[44] The most snowfall in one month has been 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) in February 1978, and the most in a season 17.6 inches (447.0 mm) in 1977/1978.

The National Weather Service office which serves the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is based in the northeastern part of Fort Worth.^[45]

Demographics

According to the 2010 census, the racial composition of Fort Worth's population was 61.1% White (non-Hispanic whites: 41.7%), 18.9% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 3.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 34.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and 3.1% of two or more races.

Map of racial distribution in Fort Worth, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian Hispanic, or Other (yellow)

As of the census of 2000, 534,694 people, 195,078 households, and 127,581 families resided in the city. The July 2004 census estimates have placed Fort Worth in the top 20 most populous cities (# 19) in the U.S. with the population at 604,538. Fort Worth is also in the top five cities with the largest numerical increase from July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004, with 17,872 more people or a 3.1% increase.^[53] The population density was 1,827.8 people per square mile (705.7/km²). There were 211,035 housing units at an average density of 721.4 per square mile (278.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.69% White, 20.26% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 2.64% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.05% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. About 29.81% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Fort Worth's population as 72% non-Hispanic White, 19.9% Black, and 7.9% Hispanic.^[51]

Of the 195,078 households, 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were not families; 9,599 were unmarried partner households: 8,202 heterosexual, 676 same-sex male, and 721 same-sex female households. About 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population was distributed as 28.3% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,074, and for a family was $42,939. Males had a median income of $31,663 versus $25,917 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,800. About 12.7% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

Christianity is the most prevalent religion in Fort Worth. The largest Christian denomination in the city are Baptists (18.1%), followed by Catholics (7.1%), Methodists (3.9%), Pentecostals (1.6%), Mormons (1.6%), Lutherans (1.1%), Episcopalians (0.6%), Presbyterians (0.5%), and other Christians (6.5%).^[54]

The oldest continuously operating church in Fort Worth is First Christian Church, founded in 1855. Other historical churches continuing operation in the city include St. Patrick Cathedral (founded 1888), Saint James Second Street Baptist Church (founded 1895), Tabernacle Baptist Church (built 1923), St. Mary of the Assumption Church (built 1924), Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church and Parsonage (built 1929 and 1911), and Morning Chapel C.M.E. Church (built 1934).

Other religions with a sizable presence in the city of Fort Worth are Islam (1.2%), Judaism (0.4%), and eastern religions such as Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism (0.7%).

Economy

At its inception, Fort Worth relied on cattle drives that traveled the Chisholm Trail. Millions of cattle were driven north to market along this trail, and Fort Worth became the center of cattle drives, and later, ranching until the Civil War. During the Civil War, Fort Worth suffered shortages causing its population to decline. It recovered during the Reconstruction Era with general stores, banks, and "Hell's Half-Acre", a large collection of saloons and dance halls which increased business and criminal activity in the city. By the early 20th century the military used martial law to regulate Hell's Half-Acre's bartenders and prostitutes.

Since the late 20th century several major companies have been headquartered in Fort Worth. These include American Airlines Group (and subsidiaries American Airlines and Envoy Air), the John Peter Smith Hospital, Pier 1 Imports, RadioShack, Cash America International, GM Financial, XTO Energy, and the BNSF Railway. Companies with significant presence in the city are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Lockheed Martin, GE Transportation, and Dallas-based telecommunications company AT&T.

In 2013, Fort Worth-Arlington ranked 15th on Forbes' list of the Best Places for Business and Careers.^[55] In 2018, Fortune named Fort Worth the 18th best city for Hispanic entrepreneurs.^[56] In 2018 Dallas-Fort Worth ranked 18th on U.S. News & World Report's list of 125 Best Places to Live in the USA.^[57]

Culture

Building on its Frontier Western heritage and a history of strong local arts patronage, Fort Worth promotes itself as the "City of Cowboys and Culture".^[58]
Fort Worth has the world's first and largest indoor rodeo, world class museums, a calendar of festivals and a robust local arts scene. The Academy of Western Artists, based in Gene Autry, Oklahoma, presents its annual awards in Fort Worth in fields related to the American cowboy, including music, literature, and even chuck wagon cooking.^[59]

Arts and sciences

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is adjacent to the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

American Airlines DC-3 NC21798 "Flagship Knoxville" on permanent display at the CR Smith Museum

Nature

The Japanese Gardens at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden

The Fort Worth Zoo is home to over 5,000 animals and has been named a top zoo in the nation by Family Life magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today and one of the top zoos in the South by Southern Living Reader's Choice Awards; it has been ranked in the top 10 zoos in the United States.

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the Botanical Research Institute of Texas are also in the city. For those interested in hiking, birding, or canoeing, the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge in northwest Fort Worth is a 3,621-acre preserved natural area designated by the Department of the Interior as a National Natural Landmark Site in 1980. Established in 1964 as the Greer Island Nature Center and Refuge, it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014. The Nature Center has small, genetically pure bison herd, a resident prairie dog town, and the prairie upon which they live. It is one of the largest urban parks of its type in the United States.

Parks

The Fort Worth Water Gardens

Fort Worth has a total of 263 parks with 179 of those being neighborhood parks. The total acres of park land is 11,700.72 acres with the average being about 12.13 acres per park.^[61]

The 4.3 acre (1.7 hectare) Fort Worth Water Gardens, designed by noted New York architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, is an urban park containing three pools of water and terraced knolls; the Water Gardens are billed as a "cooling oasis in the concrete jungle" of downtown. Heritage Park Plaza is a Modernist-style park that was designed by Lawrence Halprin.^[62] The plaza design incorporates a set of interconnecting rooms constructed of concrete and activated throughout by flowing water walls, channels, and pools and was added to the US National Register of Historic Places on May 10, 2010.^[63]

There are two off-leash dog parks located in the city, ZBonz Dog Park and Fort Woof. Fort Woof was recognized by Dog Fancy Magazine as the No. 1 Dog Park in the Nation in 2006, and as City Voter's the Best Dog Park in DFW in 2009. The park includes an agility course, water fountains, shaded shelters, and waste stations.^[64]

Sports

While much of Fort Worth's sports attention is focused on Dallas's professional sports teams, the city has its own athletic identity. The TCU Horned Frogs compete in NCAA Division I athletics, including the football team, consistently ranked in the top 25, and the baseball team, which has competed in the last six NCAA tournaments and 3 straight College World Series, coming within a win of making the College World Series finals in 2009 and 2016. The women's basketball team has competed in the last seven NCAA tournaments. Texas Wesleyan University competes in the NAIA, and won the 2006 NAIA Div. I Men's Basketball championship and three-time National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) team championships (2004–2006). Fort Worth is also home to the NCAA football Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, as well as two minor-league professional sports teams.

Semi-professional sports

TCU Horned Frogs

The presence of Texas Christian University less than 5 miles (8 km) from downtown and national competitiveness in football, baseball, and men's and women's basketball have sustained TCU as an important part of Fort Worth's sports scene.

The Horned Frog football team produced two national championships in the 1930s and remained a strong competitor in the Southwest Conference into the 1960s before beginning a long period of underperformance. The revival of the TCU football program began under Coach Dennis Franchione with the success of running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Under Head Coach Gary Patterson, the Horned Frogs have developed into a perennial top-10 contender, and a Rose Bowl winner in 2011. Notable players include Sammy Baugh, Davey O'Brien, Bob Lilly, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jerry Hughes, and Andy Dalton. The Horned Frogs, along with their rivals and fellow non-AQ leaders the Boise State Broncos and University of Utah Utes, were deemed the quintessential "BCS Busters", having appeared in both the Fiesta and Rose Bowls. Their "BCS Buster" role ended in 2012 when they joined the Big 12 athletic conference in all sports. The Horned Frog football teams have one of the best winning percentages of any school in the Football Bowl Subdivision in recent years.

Recreation

Colonial National Invitational Golf Tournament

Fort Worth hosts an important professional men's golf tournament every May at the Colonial Country Club. The Colonial Invitational Golf Tournament, now officially known as the Fort Worth Invitational, is one of the more prestigious and historical events of the tour calendar. The Colonial Country Club was the home course of golfing legend Ben Hogan, who was from Fort Worth.

NASCAR Stock Car Race at Texas Motor Speedway

Motor racing

Fort Worth is home to Texas Motor Speedway, also known as "The Great American Speedway". Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-oval track located in the far northern part of the city in Denton County. The speedway opened in 1997, and currently hosts an IndyCar event and six NASCAR events among three major race weekends a year.^[65][66]

Amateur sports-car racing in the greater Fort Worth area occurs mostly at two purpose-built tracks: Motorsport Ranch and Eagles Canyon Raceway. Sanctioning bodies include the Porsche Club of America, the National Auto Sports Association, and the Sports Car Club of America.

Cowtown Marathon

The annual Cowtown Marathon has been held every last weekend in February since 1978. The two-day activities include two 5Ks, a 10K, the half marathon, marathon, and ultra marathon. With just under 27,000 participants in 2013, the Cowtown is the largest multiple-distance event in Texas.

Government

City Hall in Fort Worth

Downtown U.S. Post Office in Fort Worth

City government

Fort Worth has a council-manager government, with elections held every two years for a mayor, elected at large, and eight council members, elected by district. The mayor is a voting member of the council and represents the city on ceremonial occasions. The council has the power to adopt municipal ordinances and resolutions, make proclamations, set the city tax rate, approve the city budget, and appoint the city secretary, city attorney, city auditor, municipal court judges, and members of city boards and commissions. The day-to-day operations of city government are overseen by the city manager, who is also appointed by the council.^[67] The current mayor is Republican Betsy Price, making Fort Worth the largest city in the United States with a female mayor.^[68]

City Council^[69]

City departments

• 
  Fort Worth Police Department - provides crime prevention, investigation, and other emergency services.


• 
  Fort Worth Fire Department - provides fire and emergency services.


• 
  Fort Worth Library - public library system of the City of Fort Worth.

State Government

State Board of Education members^[70]

Texas State Representatives^[71]

Texas State Senators^[72]

State Facilities

The Texas Department of Transportation operates the Fort Worth District Office in Fort Worth.^[73]

The North Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility, a privately operated prison facility housing short-term parole violators, was in Fort Worth. It was operated on behalf of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In 2011, the state of Texas decided not to renew its contract with the facility.^[74]

Federal Government

United States Representatives^[75]

Federal facilities

Fort Worth is home to one of the two locations of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In 1987, construction on this second facility began. In addition to meeting increased production requirements, a western location was seen to serve as a contingency operation in case of emergencies in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area; as well, costs for transporting currency to Federal Reserve banks in San Francisco, Dallas, and Kansas City would be reduced. Currency production began in December 1990 at the Fort Worth facility, the official dedication took place April 26, 1991. Bills produced here have a small "FW" in one corner.

The Eldon B. Mahon United States Courthouse building contains three oil-on-canvas panels on the fourth floor by artist Frank Mechau (commissioned under the Public Works Administration's art program).^[76] Mechau's paintings, The Taking of Sam Bass, Two Texas Rangers, and Flags Over Texas were installed in 1940, becoming the only New Deal art commission sponsored in Fort Worth. The courthouse, built in 1933, serves the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Federal Medical Center, Carswell, a federal prison and health facility for women, is located in the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.^[77] Carswell houses the federal death row for female inmates.^[78]

Federal Medical Center, Ft. Worth, a federal prison and health facility for men, is located across from TCC - South Campus.

The Federal Aviation Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation have offices in Fort Worth.

Education

Public libraries

Fort Worth Public Library is the public library system.

Public schools

Most of Fort Worth is served by the Fort Worth Independent School District.

Other school districts that serve portions of Fort Worth include:

The portion of Fort Worth within the Arlington Independent School District contains a wastewater plant. No residential areas are in the portion.

Pinnacle Academy of the Arts (K-12) is a state charter school, as is Crosstimbers Academy and High Point Academy.

Private schools

Private schools in Fort Worth include both secular and parochial.

Institutes of higher education

Media

Fort Worth and Dallas share the same media market. The city's magazine is Fort Worth, Texas Magazine, which publishes information about Fort Worth events, social activity, fashion, dining, and culture.^[80]

Fort Worth has one major daily newspaper, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, founded in 1906 as Fort Worth Star. It dominates the western half of the Metroplex, and The Dallas Morning News dominates the east. The Star-Telegram is the 45th-most widely circulated newspaper in the United States, with a daily circulation of 210,990 and a Sunday circulation of 304,200.

The Fort Worth Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper that serves the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The newspaper had an approximate circulation of 47,000 in 2015.^[81] The Fort Worth Weekly publishes every Wednesday and features, among many things, news reporting, cultural event guides, movie reviews, and editorials.

Fort Worth Business Press is a weekly publication that chronicles news in the Fort Worth business community.

The Fort Worth Press was a daily newspaper, published weekday afternoons and on Sundays from 1921 until 1975. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company and published under the then-prominent Scripps-Howard Lighthouse logo. The paper reportedly last made money in the early 1950s. Scripps Howard stayed with the paper until mid-1975. Circulation had dwindled to fewer than 30,000 daily, just more than 10% of that of the Fort Worth Star Telegram. The name Fort Worth Press was resurrected briefly in a new Fort Worth Press paper operated by then-former publisher Bill McAda and briefer still by William Dean Singleton, then-owner of the weekly Azle (Texas) News, now owner of the Media Central news group. The Fort Worth Press operated from offices and presses at 500 Jones Street in downtown Fort Worth.^[82]

Fort Worth shares a television market with nearby Dallas. These stations include (owned-and-operated stations of their affiliated networks are highlighted in bold) KDFW 4 (Fox), KXAS 5 (NBC), WFAA 8 (ABC), KTVT 11 (CBS), KERA 13 (PBS), KTXA 21 (Independent), KDFI 27 (MNTV), KDAF 33 (CW), and K31GL-D (HC2 Holdings).

Radio stations

Over 33 radio stations operate in and around Fort Worth, with many different formats.

AM

On the AM dial, like in all other markets, political talk radio is prevalent, with WBAP 820, KLIF 570, KEXB 620, KSKY 660, KRLD 1080 the conservative talk stations serving Fort Worth and KMNY 1360 the sole progressive talk station serving the city. KFXR 1190 is a news/talk/classic country station. Sports talk can be found on KTCK 1310 ("The Ticket"). WBAP, a 50,000-watt clear-channel station which can be heard over much of the country at night, was a long-successful country music station before converting to its current talk format.

Several religious stations are also on AM in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; KHVN 970 and KGGR 1040 are the local urban gospel stations and KKGM 1630 has a Southern gospel format.

Fort Worth's Spanish-speaking population is served by many stations on AM:

A few mixed Asian language stations serve Fort Worth:

• 
  KHSE 700


• 
  KTXV 890


• 
  KZEE 1220

Other formats found on the Fort Worth AM dial are urban KKDA 730, business talk KJSA 1120, country station KCLE 1460.

FM

KLNO is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Worth. Long-time Fort Worth resident Marcos A. Rodriguez operated Dallas Fort Worth radio stations KLTY and KESS on 94.1 FM.

Noncommercial stations serve the city fairly well. Three college stations can be heard - KTCU 88.7, KCBI 90.9, and KNTU 88.1, with a variety of programming. Also, the local NPR station is KERA 90.1, along with community radio station KNON 89.3. Downtown Fort Worth also hosts the Texas Country radio station KFWR 95.9 The Ranch.

A wide variety of commercial formats, mostly music, are on the FM dial in Fort Worth.

Internet radio stations and shows

When local radio station KOAI 107.5 FM, now KMVK, dropped its smooth jazz format, fans set up smoothjazz1075.com, an internet radio station, to broadcast smooth jazz for disgruntled fans.

A couple of internet radio shows are in the Fort Worth area, DFDubbIsHot and The Broadband Brothers.

Transportation

The Trinity Railway Express makes a stop in downtown Fort Worth

Like most cities that grew quickly after World War II, Fort Worth's main mode of transportation is the automobile, but bus transportation via Trinity Metro is available, as well as an interurban train service to Dallas via the Trinity Railway Express. Beginning January 2019, train service from downtown Fort Worth to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's Terminal B will be available via Trinity Metro's TEXRail service.

History

Electric streetcars

Interurban Line between Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas (postcard, circa 1902–1924)

The first streetcar company in Fort Worth was the Fort Worth Street Railway Company. Its first line began operating in December 1876, and traveled from the courthouse down Main Street to the T&P Depot.^[83] By 1890, more than 20 private companies were operating streetcar lines in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Street Railway Company bought out many of its competitors, and was eventually itself bought out by the Bishop & Sherwin Syndicate in 1901.^[84] The new ownership changed the company's name to the Northern Texas Traction Company, which operated 84 miles of streetcar railways in 1925, and their lines connected downtown Fort Worth to TCU, the Near Southside, Arlington Heights, Lake Como, and the Stockyards.

Electric interurban railways

At its peak, the electric interurban industry in Texas consisted of almost 500 miles of track, making Texas the second in interurban mileage in all states west of the Mississippi River. Electric interurban railways were prominent in the early 1900s, peaking in the 1910s and fading until all electric interurban railways were abandoned by 1948. Close to three-fourths of the mileage was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, running between Fort Worth and Dallas and to other area cities including Cleburne, Denison, Corsicana, and Waco. The line depicted in the associated image was the second to be constructed in Texas and ran 35 miles between Fort Worth and Dallas. Northern Texas Traction Company built the railway, which was operational from 1902 to 1934.^[85]

Current transport

In 2009, 80.6% of Fort Worth (city) commuters drive to work alone. The 2009 mode share for Fort Worth (city) commuters are 11.7% for carpooling, 1.5% for transit, 1.2% for walking, and .1% for cycling.^[86] In 2015, the American Community Survey estimated modal shares for Fort Worth (city) commuters of 82% for driving alone, 12% for carpooling, .8% for riding transit, 1.8% for walking, and .3% for cycling.^[87] The city of Fort Worth has a lower than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 6.1 percent of Fort Worth households lacked a car, and decreased to 4.8 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Fort Worth averaged 1.83 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.^[88]

Roads

Fort Worth is served by four interstates and three U.S. highways. It also contains a number of arterial streets in a grid formation.

Interstate highways 30, 20, 35W, and 820 all pass through the city limits.

Interstate 820 is a loop of Interstate 20 and serves as a beltway for the city. Interstate 30 and Interstate 20 connect Fort Worth to Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Dallas. Interstate 35W connects Fort Worth with Hillsboro to the south and the cities of Denton and Gainesville to the north.

I-20 in southern Fort Worth

U.S. Route 287 runs southeast through the city connecting Wichita Falls to the north and Mansfield to the south. U.S. Route 377 runs south through the northern suburbs of Haltom City and Keller through the central business district. U.S. Route 81 shares a concurrency with highway 287 on the portion northwest of I-35W.

Notable state highways:

• 
  Texas State Highway 114 (east-west)


• 
  Texas State Highway 183 (east-west)


• 
  Texas State Highway 121 (north-south)

(List of Dallas-Fort Worth area freeways)

Public transportation

"The T" bus in Ft. Worth, April 2005

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority, better known as Trinity Metro, serves Fort Worth with dozens of different bus routes throughout the city, including a downtown bus circulator known as Molly the Trolley. In addition to Fort Worth, Trinity Metro operates buses in the suburbs of Blue Mound, Forest Hill, River Oaks and Sansom Park.^[89]

In 2010, Fort Worth won a $25 million Federal Urban Circulator grant to build a streetcar system.^[90] In December 2010, though, the city council forfeited the grant by voting to end the streetcar study.^[91]

Rail transportation

• 
  The Trinity Railway Express is a commuter rail line that connects downtown Fort Worth with downtown Dallas and several suburban stations between the two major cities.^[92]
  


• Two Amtrak routes stop at the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center: The Heartland Flyer and Texas Eagle.


• 
  TEXRail is a commuter rail line planned for service in January 2019 that will connect downtown Fort Worth with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, with stops in the cities of Grapevine and North Richland Hills.

Airports

• 
  Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is a major commercial airport located between the major cities of Fort Worth and Dallas. DFW Airport is the world's third-busiest airport based on operations and tenth-busiest airport based on passengers.^[93]
  

Prior to the construction of DFW, the city was served by Greater Southwest International Airport, which was located just to the south of the new airport. Originally named Amon Carter Field after one of the city's influential mayors, Greater Southwest opened in 1953 and operated as the primary airport for Fort Worth until 1974. It was then abandoned until the terminal was torn down in 1980. The site of the former airport is now a mixed-use development straddled by Texas State Highway 183 and 360. One small section of runway remains north of Highway 183, and serves as the only reminder that a major commercial airport once occupied the site.

Fort Worth is home to these four airports within city limits:

• Fort Worth Alliance Airport


• Fort Worth Meacham International Airport


• Fort Worth Spinks Airport


• Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth

Walkability

A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Fort Worth 47th-most walkable of 50 largest U.S. cities.^[94]

Notable people

Sister cities

Fort Worth is a part of the Sister Cities International program and maintains cultural and economic exchange programs with its eight sister cities.^[95][96]

• 
  Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (1985)


• 
  Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan (1987)


• 
  Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (1987)


• 
  Bandung, West Java, Indonesia (1990)


• 
  Budapest, Hungary (1990)^[97]
  


• 
  Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico (1998)


• 
  Mbabane, Swaziland (2004)


• 
  Guiyang, Guizhou, China (2010)

See also

• Fort Worth United Soccer Club


• List of museums in North Texas


• Trinity River Vision Project


• List of people from Fort Worth, Texas

References

Further reading

• Cervantez, Brian. "'For the Exclusive Benefit of Fort Worth': Amon G. Carter, the Great Depression, and the New Deal." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 119.2 (2015): 120-146.


• Delia Ann Hendricks, The History of Cattle and Oil in Tarrant County (M.A. thesis, Texas Christian University, 1969).


• Oliver Knight, Fort Worth, Outpost on the Trinity (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1953).


• Richard G. Miller, "Fort Worth and the Progressive Era: The Movement for Charter Revision, 1899–1907", in Essays on Urban America, ed. Margaret Francine Morris and Elliot West (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1975).


• Ruth Gregory Newman, The Industrialization of Fort Worth (M.A. thesis, North Texas State University, 1950).


• Buckley B. Paddock, History of Texas: Fort Worth and the Texas Northwest Edition (4 vols., Chicago: Lewis, 1922).


• J'Nell Pate, Livestock Legacy: The Fort Worth Stockyards, 1887–1987 (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1988).


• Warren H. Plasters, A History of Amusements in Fort Worth from the Beginning to 1879 (M.A. thesis, Texas Christian University, 1947).


• Robert H. Talbert, Cowtown-Metropolis: Case Study of a City's Growth and Structure (Fort Worth: Texas Christian University, 1956).


• Joseph C. Terrell, Reminiscences of the Early Days of Fort Worth (Fort Worth, 1906).


• 
  Farber, James (1960). Fort Worth in the Civil War. Belton, Texas: Peter Hansborough Bell Press.
  


• 
  Garrett, Julia Kathryn (1972). Fort Worth: A Frontier Triumph. Austin: Encino.
  


• 
  Knight, Oliver (1953). Fort Worth, Outpost on the Trinity. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
  


• 
  Miller, Richard G. (1975). "Fort Worth and the Progressive Era: The Movement for Charter Revision, 1899–1907". In Morris, Margaret Francine; West, Elliot. Essays on Urban America. Austin: University of Texas Press.
  


• 
  Pate, J'Nell (1988). Livestock Legacy: The Fort Worth Stockyards, 1887–1987. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
  


• 
  Pinkney, Kathryn Currie (2003). From stockyards to defense plants, the transformation of a city: Fort Worth, Texas, and World War II. Ph.D. thesis, University of North Texas.
  


• 
  Sanders, Leonard (1973). How Fort Worth Became the Texasmost City. Fort Worth: Amon Carter Museum.
  


• 
  Talbert, Robert H. (1956). Cowtown-Metropolis: Case Study of a City's Growth and Structure. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University.
  

External links

Official sites and resources

• City of Fort Worth official website


• Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau


• Downtown Fort Worth official website


• Fort Worth Business Directory


• 
  Fort Worth, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
  

Digital collections

• Fort Worth... The Way We Were


• Fort Worth Library Digital Archives


• W.D. Smith Commercial Photography


• The Reeder Children's Theatre Presents... Memories of Fort Worth's Reeder School


• Time Frames Online. University of Texas Arlington Library Special Collections

Geography

• 
  Geographic data related to Fort Worth, Texas at OpenStreetMap