History of Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth city is one of the leading cultural destinations in Texas. It is one of the largest and most populated metropolises in both Texas and the U.S as a whole. Fort Worth serves as the administrative center of Tarrant County and has a total area of around 910 square kilometers. Fort Worth's population of over 895,000 people accounts for almost half of Tarrant County's entire population.
The history of Fort Worth goes way back to the 1700s when the area was home to several local Native tribes. The area remained undeveloped until after the 1843 signing of the Bird's Fort treaty which was devised to protect the natives from unauthorized invasions by new settlers and allow for the construction of a trading post in the location of modern-day Fort Worth.
After the infamous Mexican–American War, seven posts out of a proposed ten were set-up to protect the American frontier from further attacks. One of the posts was positioned on a cliff overlooking the Trinity River and named Camp Worth in honor of William Jenkins Worth, a former Major General in the U.S. army who came up with the idea of putting setting-up these camps as a precautionary defense mechanism. The name was later changed to Fort Worth. The fort was abandoned in 1853 and completely disappeared from the map of what is now Fort Worth city without a trace. The current courthouse is alleged to have been built on the exact spot that was previously occupied by the Fort.
After the war, peace prevailed in the area and the local villages and towns started to flourish. Fort Worth experienced rapid growth due to its location along the Chisholm Trail-a historic route used by Cattle Drivers and their cattle on their war to the market. With the number of Cattle Drivers passing through the area increasing every day, Fort Worth soon became a flourishing city where the Cattle Drivers would rest-up and replenish on their way to and from the market. This was the source of Fort Worth's nickname- Cowtown.
The civil war came as another setback to the development of the town and most of the residents moved out leaving a population of fewer than 200 people. After the area recovered from the civil war, urban development started. The people of the city started using the name "Panther" city which had initially been used to ridicule the city's slow growth after the war as the name of their now bustling community. The "Panther" became some form of a legacy in the city and is celebrated using statues and structures.
From the late 1970s, Fort Worth has followed an upward trajectory in terms of growth and development in all phases. Today, it stands as a giant economic and cultural hub and one of the main Oil-drilling hotspots in the country.
Things to do in Fort Worth, TX
