DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one ridin' it to you. Fort Worth. The 1870s.
A city finding its place in the world — and that place, as it turned out, was right in the middle of the cattle business. Texas cattlemen were pushing herds north to market, and Fort Worth had become an important trading and supply depot for the whole operation. Then the railroads came converging in the 1870s and 1880s, and once the iron tracks started threading through town, stockyard facilities began appearing along the lines like they'd been waiting for permission.
Now here's where things get interesting. In 1893, a group of Boston investors came in, purchased the Stockyards, and organized what they called the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company. Boston money in a Texas cattle town.
You can almost hear the boots scuffing past the wingtips. The Company didn't sit on their hands. In March of 1896, they held the first livestock show — out at Marine Creek, just nearby.
And here's the thing that made it work right out of the gate: the Texas Cattle Raisers Association was already holding their Annual Meeting in Fort Worth at the same time. Their members showed up, they participated, and that initial success? The marker says it was due mainly to them.
Things kept building. In 1903, the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company put up an impressive livestock exchange building. Then in 1908, with Armour and Company, Swift and Company, and those TCRA members all lending a hand, something called the National Feeders and Breeders Show opened in brand new Coliseum facilities right here on this ground.
It offered cutting horse competition, a horse show — and in 1916, they added a Wild West show. Because apparently it needed more. By 1918, the whole thing had been renamed the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, and it had grown into a premier rodeo, livestock, and exhibition event.
The kind of thing Fort Worth could hang its hat on. But then came 1943. The facilities were converted for U.S. military purposes.
And in 1944, the Show relocated — moved out to a site in west Fort Worth, carrying its history with it and leaving this ground behind. From a cattle trail depot to a Boston land deal to a coliseum full of cutting horses and Wild West spectacle — all of it rooted right here, before the war changed the address. That's Fort Worth, doing what Fort Worth does: starting something that doesn't quit.
What the marker says
Fort Worth became an important trading and supply depot in the 1870s for Texas cattlemen driving herds to Northern markets. With the convergence of several railroads here in the 1870s and 1880s stockyard facilities began to appear along the railroad lines. In 1893 Boston investors purchased the Stockyards and organized the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company. The Company held the first livestock show at nearby Marine Creek in March 1896. The show's initial sucess was due mainly to the participation of members of the Texas Cattle Raisers Association (TCRA) whose Annual Meeting in Fort Worth coincided with the Show. The Fort Worth Stock Yards Company built an impressive livestock exchange building in 1903. In 1908, with the help of Armour & Co., Swift & Co., and TCRA members, the National Feeders and Breeders Show opened here in new Coliseum facilities. The show offered a variety of events including a cutting horse competition and a horse show. A Wild West show was added in 1916. The show, renamed Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show in 1918, developed into a premier rodeo, livestock, and exhibition event. In 1943 the facilities were converted for U.S. military purposes and in 1944 the Show relocated to a site in west Fort Worth. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.