ByCityLight.com - Home

Fort Worth - City History and Historical Figures Fort Worth - City Facts Fort Worth - City Attractions Fort Worth - City Lodging Fort Worth - City Dining Fort Worth - City Events Fort Worth - City Links Texas Information
Colleges In Fort Worth

City Maps/Weather



Features and Fun City Facts
Fun City Facts
The top of the Empire State Building in New York was buit to be a mooring place for dirigibles (Blimps).

Boeing's final assembly plant, the world's largest building, is located in Everett, Washington.
Features and Fun City Facts


Browse For a City Search For a City Get Listed on ByCityLight.com Who we are and what we do. Contact Information Welcome to ByCityLight.com, Your Tour Guide To The Cities You Love

Fort Worth, Texas Click for Fort Worth, Texas Forecast

City History
Historic People


City History

Photos of Fort Worth, Texas

In the 1840's scores of Americans from the East coast were moving westward. As ranchers and settlers from the Eastern states made their way into the area, Native Americans retreated from the North Texas frontier. Meanwhile, tensions mounted between the Republic of Texas and its southern neighbor, Mexico, since Texas' victory over Mexico in 1836. On March 24, 1846, an American Army was encamped along the northern banks of the Rio Grande, directly across the river from Mexican soldiers. Within a month, hostilities commenced and a large body of Mexican cavalrymen attacked a patrol of dragoons. Declaring, "American blood had been shed on American soil", President Polk declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846.

Major General William Worth was second in command at the opening of the Mexican-American War in 1846. While leading his troops, Worth himself planted the first American flag on the Rio Grande. At the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, Worth was placed in command of the Department of Texas in 1849 and proposed a line of forts to mark the Western Texas frontier. One month later Worth General Worth died from cholera. Upon Worth's death, the Department of Texas ordered Major Arnold to find a new fort site near the West Fork and Clear Fork. Arnold established a camp on the bank of the Trinity River and named it Camp Worth in honor of General Worth. Soon after Arnold moved the camp to the North-facing bluff. The U.S. War Department officially named the post Fort Worth on November 14, 1849.

Although Indian attacks were still a threat in the area, pioneers were already settling near the fort which was flooded the first year and moved to the top of the bluff where the courthouse sits today. No trace of the original fort remains. Fort Worth went from a sleepy outpost to a bustling town. The Fort became the center of cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry. Its location on the Old Chisholm Trail, earned its nickname "Cowtown."

During the 1860s Fort Worth suffered the effects of the Civil War. The population dropped as low as 175, and money, food, and supply shortages burdened the residents. Gradually, however, the town began to revive. In 1876 the Texas & Pacific Railway arrived causing a boom and transformed the Fort Worth Stockyards into a premier cattle industry and wholesale trade. Fort Worth became the westernmost railhead and a transit point for cattle shipment. Cowboys took full advantage of their last brush with civilization before the long drive. They stocked up on provisions and visited saloons for a bit of gambling and carousing. With the boom times came some problems The town soon became home to Hell's Half Acre, the biggest collection of bars, dance halls and bawdy houses South of Dodge City. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s the Acre continued to attract gunmen, highway robbers, card sharks, con men, and shady ladies, who preyed on out-of-town and local sportsmen.

At one time or another reform-minded mayors and crusading newspaper editors declared war on the district but with no lasting results. The Acre meant income for the city (all of it illegal) and excitement for visitors.

A major reform campaign in the late 1880s combined with the first prohibition campaign in Texas, helped to shut down the Acre's worst in 1889. Urban growth began to improve the image of the Acre, as new businesses and homes moved into the South end of town.

By 1900 most of the dance halls and gamblers were gone. Cheap gambling and prostitution was now the fad. The police department compiled statistics showing that 50 percent of the violent crime in Fort Worth still occurred in the Acre. In 1919 martial law was brought to bear against prostitutes and barkeepers of the Acre. Fines and stiff jail sentences curtailed their activities. The Progressive era was similarly making its reformist mark felt in districts like the Acre all over the country.

In 1917, oil was discovered in West Texas about 90 miles west of Fort Worth. The gusher meant another boom for the city and helped meet the fuel demand created by World War I. Five refineries were built by 1920 and the city became a center for oil operators. Oil-rich ranchers and farmers moved to Fort Worth and built luxurious homes and towering office buildings.

During World War I flying fields were established near Fort Worth, and in 1927 an airport opened and the aviation industry began. During World War II, B-24 bombers were manufactured while bomber pilots trained nearby at Carswell Air Force Base The opening of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 ushered in a new era of aviation history. At the time it was built, the airport was the largest in the world. The aviation/aerospace industry remains an important factor in Fort Worth's economy today.

Partners for Livable Communities voted Fort Worth as one of "America's Most Livable Large Cities in 2004." With a vibrant cultural life, continuing development, and expanding economy in high tech industries.

Historic Figures

Major General William Worth (1794 –1849)



Major General William Worth (1794 –1849)
When the Mexican-American War began Worth was serving in Texas and negotiated the surrender of the Mexican city of Matamoros. He next commanded the 2nd Regular Division, Army of Occupation at the Battle of Monterrey. In 1847, Worth was transferred to command of the 1st Division. During the amphibious landings at Veracruz he jumped from the landing craft into shoulder deep water and waded ashore to become the first American to make an amphibious military landing. He took part in the siege of Veracruz and engaged in the following battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras and Churubusco. In Mexico City Worth was ordered to seize the Mexican works at the Molino del Rey. He next led his division against the San Cosme Gate at Mexico City. When U.S. forces entered Mexico City, Worth personally climbed to the roof of the National Palace and took down the Mexican flag replacing it with the Stars and Stripes. For his service at the Battle of Chapultepec, the United States Congress awarded him with a sword of honor. He was in command of the Department of Texas when he died of cholera in 1849 in San Antonio. The city of Fort Worth, Texas, the village of Worth, Illinois, Worth County, Georgia and the Lake Worth Lagoon in Florida, and consequently, the city of Lake Worth, Florida on its shores, are named in his honor.

March 28, 2024

browse cities | search | get listed | spotlight | about us | contact us | policies | partners

Copyright ©2024 www.ByCityLight.com - Page Design by Erik Schubach and Tristan Chambers