| 52nd | Top FBI field offices |
| Fort Worth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
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| Nickname(s): Cowtown[1]; Panther City[1]; | |||
| Motto: "Where the West begins"[1] | |||
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  Fort Worth
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| Coordinates: 32°45′26.49″N 97°19′59.45″W / 32.7573583°N 97.3331806°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Texas | ||
| Counties | Tarrant, Denton, Parker, Johnson, Wise[2] | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Michael J. Moncrief [3] | ||
| - City Manager | Dale A. Fisseler [4] | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 298.9 sq mi (774.1 km2) | ||
| - Land | 292.5 sq mi (757.7 km2) | ||
| - Water | 6.3 sq mi (16.4 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 653 ft (216 m) | ||
| Population (2009)[5] | |||
| - City | 720,250 (17th) | ||
| - Density | 2,403.7/sq mi (927.9/km2) | ||
| - Metro | 6,145,037 | ||
| - Demonym | Fort Worthians | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| Area code(s) | 682, 817 | ||
| FIPS code | 48-27000[6] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1380947[7] | ||
| Website | fortworthgov.org | ||
Fort Worth is the seventeenth-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city within the state of Texas.[8] Located in North Texas and the western edge of the American South, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly 300 square miles (780 km2) in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and Wise counties, serving as the seat for Tarrant County. According to the July 2008 census estimates, Fort Worth had a population of 703,073 it is estimated by 2030 it will have 826,665 residents .[5][9] The city is the second-largest cultural and economic center of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area.
Established originally in 1849 as a protective Army outpost situated on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River, the city of Fort Worth today still embraces its western heritage and traditional architecture and design.[10][11]
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By the 1840s 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 at San Jacinto in 1836.
Texas remained an independent Republic for nine years prior to being annexed as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. Less than three months later on March 24, 1846, an American Army commanded by General Zachary Taylor 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 (soldiers trained to fight on foot, but who transport themselves on horseback) on April 23, 1846. Declaring, "American blood had been shed on American soil", President Polk addressed Congress, who declared war on Mexico.
Major General William Jenkins Worth (1794–1849) was second in command to General Zachary Taylor at the opening of the Mexican-American War in 1846. Born in Hudson, New York, Worth was a tall and commanding figure said to be the best horseman and handsomest man in the Army. He was of a manly, generous nature, and possessed talents that would have won him distinction on any field of action. While leading his troops, Worth personally planted the first American flag on the Rio Grande.
Under General Taylor, Worth conducted negotiations for Mexico's surrender of Matamoros and was entrusted with the assault on the Bishop's Palace in Monterrey, Mexico. The assault on the Bishop's Palace was a hazardous undertaking. Worth and his troops managed to drag their cannon and ammunition over adverse terrain and up sheer cliff faces while under constant heavy enemy fire. Worth passed from post to post during the entire action on horseback escaping personal injury and losing a minimal number of his soldiers.
Worth played a critical role in the capture of Puebla (Mexico's second largest city in 1846) and was one of the first to enter the city of Mexico, where he personally cut down the Mexican flag that waved over the National Palace. At the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, Worth was placed in command of the Department of Texas in 1849.
In January 1849 Worth proposed a line of ten 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. Worth was a well respected and decorated U.S. Army General at the time of his death and a hero of three wars. Fort Worth, Texas; Lake Worth, Texas; Lake Worth, Florida; and Worth County, Georgia are named in his honor.
Upon Worth's death, General William S. Harney assumed command of the Department of Texas and ordered Major Ripley A. Arnold to find a new fort site near the West Fork and Clear Fork. On June 6, 1849, Arnold established a camp on the bank of the Trinity River and named the post Camp Worth in honor of 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 U.S. War Department officially named the post Fort Worth on November 14, 1849.
Although Native American attacks were still a threat in the area, pioneers were already settling near the fort. E. S. Terrell (1812–1905) claimed to be the first resident of Fort Worth.[12] The fort 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 when it became a stop along the legendary Chisholm Trail, the dusty path where millions of head of cattle were driven North to market. Fort Worth became the center of the cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry. Its location on the Old Chisholm Trail, helped establish Fort Worth as a trading and cattle center and earned it the nickname "Cowtown."
During the 1860s Fort Worth suffered from the effects of the Civil War, and Reconstruction. The population dropped as low as 175, and money, food, and supply shortages burdened the residents. Gradually, however, the town began to revive.
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.
In 1875, the Dallas Herald published an article by a former Fort Worth lawyer, Robert E. Cowart. Mr. Cowart 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. He further stated that the impact on the cattle industry, combined with the railroad stopping the laying of track 30 miles outside of Fort Worth, had caused Fort Worth to become such a drowsy place 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.[13] Many businesses and organizations continue to use Panther in their name. The Fort Worth police have a panther prominently set at the top of their badge.[14]
In 1876 the Texas & Pacific Railway arrived in Fort Worth causing a boom and transformed the Fort Worth Stockyards into a premier cattle industry and in wholesale trade.[15] The arrival of the railroad ushered in an era of astonishing growth for Fort Worth as 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 nickname, "Queen City of the Prairies", Fort Worth supplied a regional market via the growing transportation network.
Fort Worth became the westernmost railhead and a transit point for cattle shipment. With the city's main focus being on cattle and the railroads, local businessman, Louville Niles, formed the Fort Worth Stockyards Company in 1893. Shortly thereafter, the two biggest cattle slaughtering firms at the time, Armour and Swift, both established operations in the new stockyards.
With the boom times came some 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 the colorful saloons for a bit of gambling and carousing, then galloped Northward with their cattle and whoop it up again on their way back. The town soon became home to Hell's Half Acre, the biggest collection of bars, dance halls and bawdy houses south of Dodge City, Kansas (the northern terminus of the Chisolm Trail), giving Fort Worth the nickname of "The Paris of the Plains."[16]
Crime was rampant and 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. As the importance of Fort Worth as a crossroads and cowtown grew, so did Hell's Half Acre.
What was originally limited to the lower end of Rusk Street (renamed Commerce Street in 1917) spread out in all directions. By 1881 the Fort Worth Democrat was complaining Hell's Half Acre covered more like 2.5 acres (10,000 m2).
The Acre grew until it sprawled across four of the city's main North-South thoroughfares. These boundaries, which were never formally recognized, represented the maximum area covered by the Acre, around 1900. Occasionally, the Acre was also referred to as "The bloody Third Ward" after it was designated one of the city's three political wards in 1876.
Long before the Acre reached its maximum boundaries, local citizens had become alarmed at the level of crime and violence in their city. In 1876 Timothy Isaiah (Longhair Jim) Courtright was elected City Marshal with a mandate to tame the Acre's wilder activities.
Courtright cracked down on violence and general rowdiness by sometimes putting as many as 30 people in jail on a Saturday night, but allowed the gamblers to operate unmolested. After receiving information that train and stagecoach robbers, such as the Sam Bass gang, were using the Acre as a hideout, local authorities intensified law-enforcement efforts. Yet certain businessmen placed a newspaper advertisement arguing that such legal restrictions in Hell's Half Acre would curtail the legitimate business activities there.
Despite this tolerance from business, however, the cowboys began to stay away, and the businesses began to suffer. City officials muted their stand against vice. Courtright lost support of the Fort Worth Democrat and consequently lost when he ran for reelection in 1879.
Throughout the 1880s and 1890s the Acre continued to attract gunmen, highway robbers, card sharps, con men, and shady ladies, who preyed on out-of-town and local sportsmen.
At one time or another reform-minded mayors like H. S. Broiles and crusading newspaper editors like B. B. Paddock declared war on the district but with no long-term results. The Acre meant income for the city (all of it illegal) and excitement for visitors. This could possibly be why the reputation of the Acre was sometimes exaggerated by raconteurs which longtime Fort Worth residents claimed the place was never as wild as its reputation.
Suicide was responsible for more deaths than murder, and the chief victims were prostitutes, not gunmen. However much its reputation was exaggerated, the real Acre was bad enough. The newspaper claimed "it was a slow night which did not pan out a cutting or shooting scrape among its male denizens or a morphine experiment by some of its frisky females."
The loudest outcries during the periodic clean-up campaigns were against the dance halls, where men and women met, as opposed to the saloons or the gambling parlors, which were virtually all male.
A major reform campaign in the late 1880s was brought on by Mayor Broiles and County Attorney R. L. Carlock after two events. In the first of these, on February 8, 1887, Luke Short and Jim Courtright had a shootout on Main Street that left Courtright dead and Short the "King of Fort Worth Gamblers."
Although the fight did not occur in the Acre, it focused public attention on the city's underworld. A few weeks later a poor prostitute known only by the name of Sally was found murdered and nailed to an outhouse door in the Acre.
These two events, combined with the first prohibition campaign in Texas, helped to shut down the Acre's worst excesses in 1889. More than any other factor, urban growth began to improve the image of the Acre, as new businesses and homes moved into the South end of town.
Another change was the influx of black residents. Excluded from the business end of town and the nicer residential areas, Fort Worth's black citizens, who numbered some 7,000 out of a total population of 50,000 around 1900, settled into the south end of town. Though some joined in the profitable vice trade (to run, for instance, the Black Elephant Saloon), many others found legitimate work and bought homes.
A third change was in the popularity and profitability of the Acre, which was no longer attracting cowboys and out-of-town visitors. Its visible population was more likely to be derelicts, hobos, and bums.
By 1900 most of the dance halls and gamblers were gone. Cheap variety shows and prostitution became the chief forms of entertainment. The Progressive era was similarly making its reformist mark felt in districts like the Acre all over the country.
In 1911 Rev. J. Frank Norris launched an offensive against racetrack gambling in the Baptist Standard and used the pulpit of the First Baptist Church to attack vice and prostitution. Norris used the Acre to scourge the leadership of Fort Worth. 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 curtain on the Acre finally.
The police department compiled statistics showing that 50 percent of the violent crime in Fort Worth occurred in the Acre, a shocking confirmation of long-held suspicions. After Camp Bowie was located on the outskirts of Fort Worth in the summer of 1917, martial law was brought to bear against 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, nevertheless, continued to be used for three decades thereafter to refer to the depressed lower end of Fort Worth.[17]
On March 28, 2000 at 6:15 pm, an F3 (some estimates claim an F4) tornado smashed through downtown, tearing many buildings into shreds and scrap metal. One of the hardest hit structures was Bank One Tower, which was one of the dominant features of the Fort Worth Skyline and which had on its top floor a popular restaurant. The 'Plywood Skyscraper' and later 'Tin Can Tower', both nicknames coming from what it looked like after failed attempts to repair damage from the tornado, awaited demolition for several years, deemed as unsafe and too cost-prohibitive to revive. It has since been converted to upscale condominiums and officially renamed 'The Tower'. Ironically, despite Fort Worth's location in what is traditionally called "Tornado Alley", this was the first major tornado to strike Fort Worth proper since the early 1940s.[18]
When oil began to gush in West Texas, 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.[19] Today the City of Fort Worth and many residents are dealing with the benefits and issues associated with the natural gas reserves under ground.[20] [21]
Fort Worth was the fastest growing large city in the United States from 2000-2006[22] and was voted one of "America's Most Livable Communities."[23]
Fort Worth is located in North Texas and the Southwest, and the South portion of the United States. The DFW Metroplex is the hub of the North Texas region and is the largest landlocked metropolitan area in the world. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 298.9 square miles (774.1 km²). 292.5 square miles (757.7 km²) of it is land and 6.3 square miles (16.4 km²) of it (2.12%) is water.
A large storage dam was built in 1913 on the West Fork of the Trinity River, 7 miles (10 km) from the city, with a storage capacity of 30 billion US gallons (110,000,000 m³) of water. The lake formed by this dam is known as Lake Worth. The cost of the dam was nearly US$1,500,000 - a handsome sum at the time.[citation needed]
Fort Worth has a humid subtropical climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. The hottest month of the year is July, when the average high temperature is 97 °F (36 °C), and overnight low temperatures average 72 °F (23 °C), giving an average temperature of 84 °F (29 °C)[24]. The coldest month of the year is January, when the average high temperature is 55 °F (13 °C), and low temperatures average 31 °F (-1 °C)[24]. The average temperature in January is 43 °F (6 °C)[24]. The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort Worth is 113 °F (45 °C), on June 26, 1980 and June 27, 1980.[25] The coldest temperature ever recorded in Fort Worth is -6 °F (-21 °C), on December 24, 1989[26] Because of its position in North Texas, Fort Worth is very susceptible to supercell thunderstorms, which produce large hail and can produce tornadoes. (See recent history above.)
The average annual precipitation for Fort Worth is 34.01 inches (863.8 mm)[24]. The wettest month of the year is May, when 4.58 inches (116.3 mm) of precipitation falls.[24]. The driest month of the year is January, when only 1.70 inches (43.2 mm) of precipitation falls[24] The average annual snowfall in Fort Worth is very light, only 2.6 inches (66.0 mm)[27]
Fort Worth's all time high temperature was 113°F (45°C) on June 26–27, 1980 during the Great 1980 Heat Wave,[28] and the all time low temperature was -1°F (-18°C) on December 24, 1989.[29]
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) |
95 (35) |
96 (36) |
95 (35) |
103 (39) |
113 (45) |
110 (43) |
108 (42) |
111 (44) |
103 (39) |
89 (32) |
83 (28) |
113 (45) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 54.6 (12.6) |
60.4 (15.8) |
68.4 (20.2) |
75.9 (24.4) |
83.3 (28.5) |
91.5 (33.1) |
96.1 (35.6) |
95.6 (35.3) |
88.4 (31.3) |
78.5 (25.8) |
65.7 (18.7) |
57.1 (13.9) |
76.3 (24.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 44.3 (6.8) |
49.6 (9.8) |
57.4 (14.1) |
65.0 (18.3) |
73.2 (22.9) |
81.1 (27.3) |
85.4 (29.7) |
84.8 (29.3) |
77.8 (25.4) |
67.5 (19.7) |
55.4 (13) |
46.9 (8.3) |
65.7 (18.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 34.1 (1.2) |
38.7 (3.7) |
46.4 (8) |
54.0 (12.2) |
63.0 (17.2) |
70.7 (21.5) |
74.7 (23.7) |
74.1 (23.4) |
67.2 (19.6) |
56.4 (13.6) |
45.1 (7.3) |
36.8 (2.7) |
55.1 (12.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 7 (-14) |
7 (-14) |
15 (-9) |
29 (-2) |
41 (5) |
54 (12) |
59 (15) |
59 (15) |
43 (6) |
29 (-2) |
22 (-6) |
-1 (-18) |
-1 (-18) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.89 (48) |
2.34 (59.4) |
2.90 (73.7) |
3.28 (83.3) |
5.06 (128.5) |
3.23 (82) |
2.33 (59.2) |
2.03 (51.6) |
2.53 (64.3) |
4.33 (110) |
2.55 (64.8) |
2.57 (65.3) |
35.03 (889.8) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 7.2 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 9.3 | 7.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 79.8 |
| Source: National Climatic Data Center[30] Data from 1971-2000 | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 6,663 |
|
|
| 1890 | 23,076 | 246.3% | |
| 1900 | 26,668 | 15.6% | |
| 1910 | 73,312 | 174.9% | |
| 1920 | 106,482 | 45.2% | |
| 1930 | 163,447 | 53.5% | |
| 1940 | 177,662 | 8.7% | |
| 1950 | 278,778 | 56.9% | |
| 1960 | 356,268 | 27.8% | |
| 1970 | 393,476 | 10.4% | |
| 1980 | 385,164 | −2.1% | |
| 1990 | 447,619 | 16.2% | |
| 2000 | 534,694 | 19.5% | |
| Est. 2009 | 720,250 | 34.7% | |
As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, White Americans made up 61.6% of Fort Worth's population; of which 44.1% were non-Hispanic whites. Blacks or African Americans made up 18.2% of Fort Worth's population; of which 18.0% were non-Hispanic blacks. American Indians made up 0.6% of the city's population; of which 0.4% were non-Hispanic. Asian Americans made up 3.3% of the city's population; of which 3.2% were non-Hispanic. Pacific Islander Americans made up less than 0.1% of the city's population. Individuals from some other race made up 14.6% of the city's population; of which 0.2% were non-Hispanic. Individuals from two or more races made up 1.7% of the city's population; of which 1.0% were non-Hispanic. In addition, Hispanics and Latinos made up 33.2% of Fort Worth's population.[31][32]
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 534,694 people, 195,078 households, and 127,581 families residing 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.[33] Fort Worth is also in the top 5 cities with the largest numerical increase from July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004 with 17,872 more people or a 3.1% increase.[34] 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/sq mi (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. 29.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 195,078 households out of which 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% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of 195,078 households, 9,599 are unmarried partner households: 8,202 heterosexual, 676 same-sex male, and 721 same-sex female households.
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 spread out with 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 the median income 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.
Fort Worth stands as the ninth-safest U.S. city among those with a population over 500,000 in 2006.[35]
Downtown 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 about Sundance Square have preserved their early 20th-century facades.
The city of Fort Worth contains over 1000 natural gas wells (Dec 2009 count) tapping the Barnett Shale. Each well site is a bare patch of gravel 2-5 acres 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.
Theatre
Bass Performance Hall, Casa Mañana, Jubilee Theater, Circle Theatre, Hip Pocket Theatre, Stage West
Museums
Kimbell, Amon Carter, Science and History, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Stockyards
Music
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Billy Bob's, Texas Ballet Theater, and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (Bass Hall), Fort Worth Opera (Scott Theater), Live Eclectic Music (Ridglea Theater[36])
While much of Fort Worth's sports attention is focused on the Metroplex's professional sports teams, the city does have its own athletic identity. TCU competes in NCAA Division I Athletics, including the football team that is consistently ranked in the Top 25, the baseball team has competed in the last six NCAA Tournaments and came within a win of making the College World Series in 2009. The women's basketball team that has competed in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. Texas Wesleyan University competes in the NAIA, and were the 2006 NAIA Div. I Men's Basketball champions and three-time National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) team champions (2004–2006). Fort Worth is also home to the NCAA football Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl as well as four minor-league professional sports teams. One of these minor league teams, the Fort Worth Cats baseball team, were reborn in 2001. The original Cats were a very popular minor league team in Fort Worth from the 19th century (when they were called the Panthers) until 1960, when the team was merged into the Dallas Rangers.
Fort Worth also hosts one of the most important professional men's golf tournaments every May at The Colonial Country Club. The Colonial Invitational Golf Tournament, now officially known as Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, is often referred to as the "Fifth Major" in men's professional golf, and is one of the most 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.
| Club | Sport | Founded | League | Venue |
| Fort Worth Cats | Baseball | 2001 | AAIPBL | LaGrave Field |
| Fort Worth Flyers | Basketball | 2005 | NBA Development League | Fort Worth Convention Center |
Ft. Worth has the Texas Motor Speedway (also known as "The Great American Speedway"), a NASCAR track located in the far north part of the city in Denton County. Also, the Indycar Series has raced here since 1997 in a race called the Bombardier Learjet 550.
Fort Worth shares its media market with the city of Dallas.
There are many radio stations in and around Fort Worth, with many different formats.
On the AM dial, like in all other markets, political talk radio is prevalent, with WBAP 820, KLIF 570, KSKY 660, KRLD 1080, KVCE 1160 the conservative talk stations serving Fort Worth and KMNY 1360 the sole progressive talk station serving the city. KFXR 1190 is an all-news 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.
There are also several religious stations 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:
There are also a few mixed Asian language stations serving Fort Worth:
Other formats found on the Fort Worth AM dial are Radio Disney KMKI 620, urban KKDA 730, business talk KJSA 1120, country station KCLE 1460.
Non-commercial stations serve the city fairly well. There are three college stations that can be heard--KTCU 88.7, KCBI 90.9, and KNTU 88.1, with a variety of programming. There is also local NPR station KERA 90.1, along with community station KNON 89.3. Downtown Fort Worth also host the Texas Country radio station 95.9 The Ranch.
A wide variety of commercial formats, mostly music, are on the FM dial in Fort Worth, also.
See also: Template:Dallas Fort Worth Radio.
When local radio station KOAI 107.5 FM, now KMVK, dropped its smooth jazz format, fans set up an internet radio station to broadcast smooth jazz for disgruntled fans.
There are a couple internet radio shows in the Fort Worth area, like DFDubbIsHot and The Broadband Brothers.
KXAS - NBC5, KTVT - CBS11, KTXA - Independent 21, KFWD - Independent 52
Fort Worth has one newspaper published daily, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Star-Telegram is the forty-fifth 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 has an approximate circulation of 50,000[1]. 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. Fort Worth, Texas magazine is a monthly publication that highlights the social and cultural life of the city.
The "Fort Worth Press" was a daily newspaper, published weekday afternoons and on Saturdays from 1900 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 percent 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.
American Airlines and AMR Corporation are headquartered in Fort Worth.[37] American finished moving into its $150 million (1983 dollars), 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) facility in Fort Worth on January 17, 1983; $147 million in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport bonds financed the headquarters. The airline began leasing the facility from the airport, which owns the facility.[38]
Other companies headquartered in Fort Worth include:
The Texas Department of Transportation operates the Fort Worth District Office in Fort Worth.[39]
Fort Worth is also home to the one of two locations of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In 1987, construction on a 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, D.C. metropolitan area; additionally, 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, and the official dedication took place on April 26, 1991.
The Main mode of transportation throughout Fort Worth is by automobile. However the city does maintain a bus and train service. The Trinity Rail Express, is a train service that runs between Fort Worth and Dallas. Public transportation is known as The T.
Fort Worth is served by four Interstates and two US highways. It also contains a number of arterial streets in a grid formation.
Interstates 30, 20, 35W, and 820 all reside within city limits.
Interstate 820 is a spur 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 to Hillsboro to the south and the cities of Denton and Gainesville to the north.
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.
Notable highways are: 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
Fort Worth Library is the public library system.
Most of Fort Worth is served by 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.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth oversees several Catholic elementary and middle schools.[40]
Fort Worth is a part of the Sister Cities International program and maintains cultural and economic exchange programs with its seven sister cities.[41]
Reggio Emilia, Italy (1985)
Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan (1987)
Trier, Germany (1987)
Bandung, Indonesia (1990)
Budapest, Hungary (1990)
Toluca, Mexico (1998)
Mbabane, Swaziland (2004)
Fort Worth is in the Prairies and Lakes region of Texas. With a population of approximately 661,000 it is Texas' 5th largest city. It is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, which has a population exceeding 5.7 million. Sometimes referred to as Cowtown, it is by far closer to its cowboy roots than neighboring Dallas.
Fort Worth grew from a military camp established at the close of the Mexican War by Gen. Winfield Scott, and named for Gen. William Jenkins Worth who fought in the war. Forty-two men of Company F, 2nd Dragoons, established the camp on June 6, 1849. The Fort Worth to Yuma, AZ, stage line was established in 1850. The city became the seat of Tarrant County 1860, and after the Civil War, it became a major shipping and supply depot for cattlemen.
All the major American carriers, and many international ones as well, provide scheduled passenger service into the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport [1], located exactly 17 miles from downtown Fort Worth. This airport is one of three major hubs for American Airlines. American Airlines is also headquartered in Fort Worth.
Amtrak's [2] Texas Eagle provides daily service between Chicago, Illinois and San Antonio, Texas with stops in Fort Worth and Dallas. Also, Amtrak's Heartland Flyer [3] provides daily service between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, and points in between. Woefully underfunded, passenger train service in the United States is a slow but scenic way to travel, if you aren't too concerned about arriving on time (see United_States#By_train).
Fort Worth may be easily reached via I-20 or I-30 from the east or west, or by I-35W from the north or south. I-35 splits into two branches north of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, the west branch going to Fort Worth and the east branch (I-35E) to Dallas. The branches rejoin to the south.
Car Rental Companies include:
Greyhound serves as the national/regional bus carrier for this area. Also, subsidiaries of Greyhound, such as TNM&O serve as the regional carrier.
Buses and Train service link many areas of town. Trinity Rail Express has commuter train service between downtown Fort Worth, DFW Airport and downtown Dallas. Service is Monday through Saturday. No scheduled services on Sundays and most major holidays. [13]
Options ideal for travel to the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics plant: 200 N Grants Ln, adjacent to the Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base (JRB, formerly Carswell Air Force Base):
Good Cellular phone coverage by all major providers throughout the city and all major roadways. Internet hot-spots available at most Starbucks Coffee locations, DFW Airport, and FedEx Kinko's offices.
Daily newspaper:
As with any large city, it pays to be vigilant in Fort Worth. The city's central arts and entertainment district is well policed, however, and so long as you make sure you lock your car and hide any valuables inside, all you should need is a little extra awareness of your surroundings. The city's freeways can be quite dangerous if you are not accustomed to driving in such high volumes of rapidly moving traffic; keep this in mind when planning a trip.
Looking for a Gym workout? 24 Hour Fitness [73] and Bally Total Fitness [74] have many locations throughout the area. Day passes range from $10 - $20. Bring a lock and towel.
| Routes through Fort Worth |
| Midland ← Weatherford ← | W  E |
→ Arlington → Dallas |
| Merges into I-20 ← | W  E |
→ Arlington → Dallas |
| Oklahoma City ← Denton ← | N  S |
→ I-35 Junction → Waco |
| Wichita Falls ← Decatur ← | N  S |
→ Corsicana → Beaumont |
| Del Rio ← Granbury ← | SW  N |
→ Denton → Stroud |
| This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow! |
Category: Usable articles
FORT WORTH, a city and the county-seat of Tarrant county, Texas, U.S.A., about 3 o m. W. of Dallas, on the S. bank of the West Fork of the Trinity river. Pop. (1880) 6663; (1890) 23,076; (1900) 26,688, of whom 1793 were foreign-born and 4 2 49 were negroes; (1910, census) 73,312. It is served by the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf, the Fort Worth & Denver City, the Fort Worth & Rio Grande, and the St Louis, San Francisco & Texas of the "Frisco" system, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, the Houston & Texas Central, the International & Great Northern, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, the St Louis SouthWestern, the Texas & Pacific, and the Trinity & Brazos Valley (Colorado & Southern) railways. Fort Worth is beautifully situated on a level space above the river. It is the seat of Fort Worth University (coeducational), a Methodist Episcopal institution, which was established as the Texas Wesleyan College in 1881, received its present name in 1889, comprises an academy, a college of liberal arts and sciences, a conservatory of music, a law school, a medical school, a school of commerce, and a department of oratory and elocution, and in 1907 had 802 students; the Polytechnic College (coeducational; Methodist Episcopal, South), which was established in 1890, has preparatory, collegiate, normal, commercial, and fine arts departments and a summer school, and in 1906 had 12 instructors and (altogether) 696 students; the Texas masonic manual training school; a kindergarten training school; St Andrews school (Protestant Episcopal), and St Ignatius Academy (Roman Catholic). There are several good business, municipal and county buildings, and a Carnegie library. On the 3rd of April 1909 a fire destroyed ten blocks in the centre of the city. Fort Worth lies in the midst of a stock-raising and fertile agricultural region; there is an important stockyard and packing establishment just outside the city; and considerable quantities of cotton are raised in the vicinity. Among the products are packed meats, flour, beer, trunks, crackers, candy, paint, ice, paste, cigars, clothing, shoes, mattresses, woven wire beds, furniture and overalls; and there are foundries, iron rolling mills and tanneries. In 1905 the total value of the city's factory product was $5,668,391, an increase of 62.5% since 190o; Fort Worth in 1900 ranked fifth among the cities of the state in the value of its factory product; in 1905 it ranked fourth. Fort Worth's numerous railways have given it great importance as a commercial centre. The municipality owns and operates the waterworks and the electric-lighting plant.
A military post was established here in 1849, being called first Camp Worth and then Fort Worth. It was abandoned in 1853. A settlement grew up about the fort, and the city was incorporated in 1873. The fort and the settlement were named in honour of General William Jenkins Worth (1794-1849), a native of Hudson, New York, who served in the War of 1812, commanded the United States forces against the Seminole Indians in 1841-1842, served under both General Taylor and General Scott in the Mexican War, distinguishing himself at Monterey (where he earned the brevet of major-general) and in other engagements, and later commanded the department of Texas. In 1907 Fort Worth adopted a commission form of government.
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