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Spanish Explorer named Moscoso was the first
European presence in the area of a three-branched
river named Trinity.
General
Edwin H. Tarrant,
the namesake of Tarrant County, fought in the Battle of New
Orleans in the War of 1812 and in the 1841 Battle of Village
Creek in current day Arlington. General Tarrant is buried in
Pioneer Rest Cemetery on a bluff overlooking the location of
these memorials.
General
Williams Jenkins Worth had a fort
named after him. He helped rebuild the Alamo and died in San
Antonio without ever making it to Fort Worth. General Worth is
buried near Times Square in New York City under a 51 foot tall
monument. The tallest tombstone in the country. Very fitting
for a Texan. But in New York?
Fort
Worth defended the new settlers
from the sometimes hostile Indians, mainly Comanche's, a very
powerful tribe with very good leaders.
Indian campfires
could be seen by the early settlers dotting
the horizon at night.
In the 1870's
the Indians were still quite feisty, defending what they
thought was their territory against those who they thought
were invaders.
Texas has along history of tough justice.
Before lethal injections hanging
was the method of choice.
A battle in which whiskey
played a role helped determine who won the
competition between Fort Worth and Birdville as to which would
be the dominant city in Tarrant County. You probably have not
heard of Birdville so you can probably guess which city won.
After the Civil War demand for beef
exploded, altering the history of Fort Worth
forever.
In the 1870s a Fort Worth visionary named
B.B. Paddock imagined a system of rail lines to serve the growing beef
market. When he drew this on a map
someone remarked that it looked like a Tarantula,
a name which has stuck to this day. The Tarantula Train still goes
from the Stockyards
to Grapevine twice a day.
By the 1870s Fort Worth was a major starting
point for travelers heading into the western frontier. You
could board the world's longest stage line. A 1500 mile
journey to Yuma.
Hell's Half Acre
was Fort Worth's 'Entertainment District',
long before the arrival of a Cultural District. Butch and
Sundance spent time here, enough time that the heart of
downtown Fort Worth is called Sundance Square.
By the turn of the century the Stockyards
zone began its first steps towards becoming the entertaining
tourist attraction it is today. The first Stock Show took
place in 1896. In 1902 the Livestock Exchange Building opened.
And the world's first indoor rodeo
took place in the new Cowtown Coliseum.
Fort Worth has
come a long ways from its frontier past. But unlike many
places, you can still see the past in Fort Worth, much is
preserved, much is as it was.
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