12 Apr 2023 - Fort Worth Stock Yards

 

Today we drove about 20 miles primarily west and north to the Fort Worth Stock Yards. We have been here years ago but thought it would be nice to visit the area again.  Doreen found out the area is "dog friendly" so we brought Liberty with us.  She wanted nothing to do with the horses or the cattle, but other than that she "tolerated" the excursion for the most part! 

Stockyard Station - all sorts of shops and restaurants

An old water tower used to refill the steam locomotives

The Fort Worth Live Stock Exchange Building

The history of the stock yards dates back to the late 1800's as the last stop for cattle drives headed up the Chisholm trail.  Fort Worth became known as Cowtown.  The area became a major cattle shipping point with the coming of the railroad in 1876 and the Union Stockyards were built in 1887.   As investors came the stockyard was bought out and the name was changed to the Fort Worth Stockyards Company.  Two meat packing plants, Armour and Swift, were built in the early 1900's and other support facilities came such as the telegraph company, railroad offices, etc and the area became know as "The Wall Street of the South".  The stockyards prospered but after World War II they started to decline as the railroad declined and trucking grew.  This continued until finally Armour closed in 1962 and Swift in 1971.  In the late 1970's and 1980's there was an initiative on the save the stockyards. Finally in 1989, the North Fort Worth Historical Society opened the Stockyards Museum in the historic Exchange Building. The area hosts restaurants, shops and various venues that draw thousands of people every day to the area.  The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historical District one of Texas’ most popular tourist destinations. 

The statue of Red Steagull, a song writer and performer.  

The Coliseum, built in 1908 and home of the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, below.

The Stockyards Hotel, a very historic building here.

Also, each day the Stockyards still hosts the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive. There are 17 long horns in the drive, representing one from each decade of Fort Worth's past.  This started in 1999.  The steers weigh between 1400 and 2500 bs each.  Their horns measure 6-10 feet tip to tip!  People line the street to see the longhorns come down the street!

The start of the cattle drive as it passed by.

Their horns are incredible!!

Here is a video of the cattle drive as they passed by us.  It is pretty big but hopefully it will load for you!

After the cattle drive we walked around the shops, that included western wear, souvenirs and many restaurants. 

A tribute to the American Paint Horse breed.

Horse and buggy rides available.

A long horn you can sit on and have your picture taken.

Another look down one of the shopping areas.

We were thankful we visited here when we did.  The mild temperatures and minimal crowd made the visit very enjoyable.  I could just imagine what this place would be like in the heat of the summer and tourist season!

We wrapped up our visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards and headed back to the campground.  The traffic was light and we arrived back in the early afternoon.  After lunch we drove to the national headquarters of MyMoparParts.com, which is right here in town.  I was able to buy my replacement wheel cover and avoid the shipping charges.  Back at the campground I installed it and then gave all four a few dabs of clear silicone sealant so hopefully I don't lose any more of them.  

Tomorrow we have not totally sorted out the agenda, but later on we are meeting one of Doreen's cousins for dinner.