Fort Worth Stockyards – Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is where the West begins, and nothing embodies Western heritage better than the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. From the original brick walkways to the wooden corrals, every inch of the Stockyards tells the true history of Texas’s famous livestock industry.
The Stockyards consist of mainly entertainment and shopping venues that capitalize on the “Cowtown” image of Fort Worth. Home to the famous boot-making company M.L. Leddy’s which is located in the heart of the Stockyards and The Maverick Fine Western Wear and Saloon where customers “can ‘belly up’ to the bar, relax and have a cold beer while in the Stockyards; just like they did in the days of the big cattle drives”, as they shop around the store.
The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, north of the central business district. A 98-acre (40 ha) portion encompassing much of the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in 1976. It holds a former livestock market which operated under various owners from 1866.
History of Fort Worth Stockyards
The Stockyards prospered through droughts and floods – they were even rebuilt with new flame-resistant materials after two disastrous fires killed a large number of the penned livestock – but the booming business couldn’t last forever.
During World War II, the Fort Worth Stockyards processed 5,277,496 head of livestock, making 1944 the peak year of the entire operation. Unfortunately, the decline of the Stockyards soon began with the decline of the railroad.
After World War II, newly paved roads gave rise to the trucking industry, with lower costs and greater flexibility than the railroads. This meant the market moved to the shipper instead of the meat packer, and smaller local livestock auctions and feedlots started drawing business away from central locations like the Stockyards.
It was a whole new way to market livestock, as auctions at the Stockyards shrank and all the major packers in the United States struggled to adapt. Both Armour and Swift had huge, outdated plants that now contended with rising costs, wages, and administrative expenses. Armour was the first to close his Fort Worth plant in 1962; Swift hung on until 1971.
Armour’s unique office building was demolished, but the classic Swift headquarters building lived on, first as the home of the old Spaghetti Warehouse, a popular restaurant during the 1970s, and now as corporate offices for XTO Energy.
By 1986, Stockyard’s sales reached an all-time low of 57,181 animals.
Begin your Adventure at Fort Worth Stockyards
In 1976, Charlie and Sue McCafferty founded the North Fort Worth Historical Society to preserve Fort Worth’s livestock heritage.
This new venture helped establish the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historical District and bring about the restoration of landmarks including the Livestock Exchange Building, the Coliseum, and the former Swift & Co. headquarters.
In 1989, the North Fort Worth Historical Society opened the Stockyards Museum in the historic Exchange Building. Today, the museum hosts thousands of visitors from all over the world each year and is constantly growing its facilities and its collection.
True to its history, the Stockyards still hosts the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive. All this – plus more than a hundred new shopping, dining, and entertainment venues – makes the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historical District one of Texas’ most popular tourist destinations.
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