Fort Worth was founded as a
military camp in 1849, named after General William Jenkins Worth.
The fort was established to protect 19th century settlers from Indian attacks.
It grew into a bustling town when it became a stop along the legendary Chisholm
Trail.
Fort Worth became the center of the cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry.
Since 1849 the county seat had been Birdville, but in 1855 Fort Worth citizens
decided that this honor belonged to their town.
After a long bitter fight the city became the county seat in April 1860, and construction
began on a stone county courthouse.
After a delay due to the Civil War the courthouse was finished in the 1870s, although
it burned down in 1876. Transportation and communication were an important part
of Fort Worth and its growth.
In 1874 the first westbound stage arrived, and in 1878 the Yuma Stage Line made
the city the eastern terminus to Yuma, Arizona.
The Texas and Pacific Railway designated Fort Worth as the eastern terminus for
the route to San Diego, California. |
By the 1890s the Queen City
of the Prairie, as Ft. Worth liked to be known, was becoming a dressed-beef center.
In North Fort Worth businessmen founded the Texas Dressed Beef and Packing Company,
the Union Stockyards Company, and the Fort Worth Stockyards Company.
Over the past century the city population has boomed-6,663 in 1880, 26,668 in
1900, 277,047 in 1950, 385,164 in 1980, and 447,619 in 1990, but in spite of increasing
urbanization it has retained its western flavor.
Known as "Cowtown" for its rough-and-rowdy roots, it still celebrates
its colorful Western heritage today and bills itself as "Where the West begins."
Today, Fort Worth is recognized as one of the most livable communities in the
USA.
ZIP code for Fort Worth TX 76102,
76103, 76104, 76105, 76106, 76107, 76108, 76109,
76110, 76111, 76112, 76114, 76115, 76116, 76117, 76118, 76119, 76120, 76123, 76126,
76127, 76131, 76132, 76133, 76134, 76135, 76137, 76140, 76148, 76155, 76177, 76179, 76180. |
