Fort Worth Stockyards

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District

| nrhp_type = hd

| image = Fort Worth Stock Yards Entrance Wiki (1 of 1).jpg

| caption = Entrance to Fort Worth Stockyards, 2022

| location = Roughly bounded by 23rd, Houston, and 28th Sts., and railroad, Fort Worth, Texas

| coordinates = {{coord|32|47|25|N|97|20|46|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Texas#USA

| map_label = Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District

| locmap_relief = yes

| architecture = Mission/Spanish Revival

| added = June 29, 1976

| area = {{convert|98|acre}}

| website = {{Official website|url=https://www.fortworthstockyards.org/|name=Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District}}

| refnum = 76002067{{NRISref|version=2013a}}

}}

The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, north of the central business district. A {{convert|98|acre|adj=on}} portion encompassing much of the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in 1976. It holds a former livestock market which operated under various owners from 1866.{{cite web |url=http://www.fortworthstockyards.org |title = Fort Worth Stockyards}}

History

File:Stock Yards (20102204).jpg

The arrival of railroads in 1876 made the area a very important livestock 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. 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 industry until the 1950s. Business suffered due to livestock auctions held closer to where the livestock were originally produced.{{cite journal|title=Chapter 35: Fort Worth Stockyards|journal=Building the Lone Star: An Illustrated Guide to Historic Sites|year=1986|pages=87–90}}

Today

Image:MVI 2938 Riscky's Barbeque in Fort Worth.jpg

Image:ft worth skyline downtown v.jpg]]

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 and one other contributing structure. Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks within the district include the entrance sign,{{cite web|title=Details for Fort Worth Stock Yards Entrance (Atlas Number 5439002033)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5439002033|website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=May 31, 2018}} the Livestock Exchange Building,{{cite web|title=Details for Fort Worth Livestock Exchange (Atlas Number 5439002029)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5439002029|website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=May 31, 2018}} and the Thannisch Block Building housing the Stockyards Hotel.{{cite web|title=Details for Thannisch Block Building (Atlas Number 5439005278)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5439005278|website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=May 31, 2018}} State Antiquities Landmarks also include the entrance sign{{cite web|title=Details for Fort Worth Stock Yards Sign (Atlas Number 8200000577)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000577|website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=June 1, 2018}} as well as the Armour & Swift Plaza{{cite web|title=Details for Armour & Swift Plaza (Atlas Number 8200000579)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000579|website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=June 1, 2018}} and the Cowtown Coliseum.{{cite web|title=Details for Cowtown Coliseum (Atlas Number 8200001964)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200001964|website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=June 1, 2018}}

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.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} The city of Fort Worth is often referred to as "Where the West Begins." Many bars and nightclubs (including Billy Bob's Texas) are located in the vicinity, and the area has a Western motif. There is also an opry and the weekend rodeos at Cowtown Coliseum.{{cite web|url=https://www.fortworth.com/event/stockyards-championship-rodeo/20954/ |title=Stockyards Championship Rodeo |work=Visit Fort Worth |access-date=August 19, 2019}} Some volunteers still run the cattle drives through the stockyards, a practice developed in the late 19th century by the frontiersman Charles "Buffalo" Jones, who herded buffalo calves through the streets of Garden City, Kansas.{{cite web|url=http://skyways.lib.ks.us/history/cjjones.html|title=C.J. "Buffalo" Jones|publisher=skyways.lib.ks.us|access-date=September 3, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503185809/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/history/cjjones.html|archive-date=May 3, 2011|df=mdy-all}}

A reenactment of a 19th-century cattle drive took place in 1999 as part of the city's sesquicentennial celebration.{{cite news |author= |date=March 16, 2023 |title=The Fort Worth Herd is Now Hiring: Applicants will have a chance to be Cowtown ambassadors. |url=https://fwtx.com/news/the-fort-worth-herd-is-now-hiring/ |work=Fort Worth Magazine |access-date=April 28, 2023}} Weather permitting, drives continue to be held twice daily except on certain holidays.{{cite web |url=https://www.fortworthstockyards.org/events/fort-worth-herd-twice-daily-cattle-drive |title=Fort Worth Herd Twice Daily Cattle Drive |author= |website=Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District |access-date=April 28, 2023}}

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 runs a heritage railway service between Grapevine–Main Street station and the Stockyards.

{{Adjacent stations|system=Grapevine Vintage Railroad|line=Grapevine Vintage Railroad|right=Main Street Depot}}

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

References

External links

{{cite web |url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/2076002067 |title=Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District - Fort Worth, Texas |date=June 29, 1976 |website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas |publisher=Texas Historical Commission}}
{{Handbook of Texas|id=dif04|name=Fort Worth Stockyards}}
[http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/north/northside.htm Architecture in Fort Worth: North Side]

Category:Neighborhoods in Fort Worth, Texas

Category:History of Fort Worth, Texas

Category:Economy of Fort Worth, Texas

Category:American frontier

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Fort Worth, Texas

Category:Tourist attractions in Tarrant County, Texas

Category:Mission Revival architecture in Texas

Category:Spanish Revival architecture in the United States

Category:Meat processing in the United States

Category:Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas

Category:Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places