DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker — here's how the story goes. Picture this: March 14, 1911. Opening day of the Feeders and Breeders show at the Fort Worth Stock Yard Company.
The crowds are gathering, the excitement is building — and the wooden horse and mule barns on this very site go up in flames. Gone. Just like that, on the biggest day of the year.
And here's the thing that'll get you: the show opened anyway. As planned. With former President Theodore Roosevelt himself giving the opening address.
Fire or no fire, Fort Worth does not blink. The Fort Worth Stock Yard Company announced — immediately, no hesitation — that those barns would be replaced. Not with wood this time.
Concrete and steel. Fireproof. Construction was completed by March 1912, and what rose up on this site were buildings measuring five hundred and forty feet by three hundred and fifty feet, with room enough for three thousand animals.
Price tag: three hundred thousand dollars. They were described, at the time, as among the finest stables in the world. Now, if you think that's where the story peaks, hold on.
Come 1914, Europe went to war. And armies run on horses and mules — they needed them in great supply. Agents came to Fort Worth in droves, buying stock and spending an estimated eleven million dollars.
During that time, Fort Worth was designated the largest horse and mule market in the world. The wide stretch of open ground between those grand concrete barns acquired a name over the years — Mule Alley — and that name has stuck long after the last mule traded hands. From the ashes of a single April morning to the center of the world's horse and mule trade — that's what this ground has seen.
What the marker says
The Fort Worth Stock Yard Company's wooden horse and mule barns on this site were destroyed by fire on March 14, 1911, opening day of the Feeders and Breeders show (later Southwestern Exposition & Fat Stock Show). The show opened as planned, with former President Theodore Roosevelt giving the opening address. The company announced plans to replace the destroyed barns immediately with new concrete and steel fireproof buildings. Construction was completed in March 1912, and the new barns measuring 540'x350' had a capacity for 3000 animals. With a price tag of $300,000, the buildings were described as among the finest stables in the world. Activity here increased considerably in 1914, at the outbreak of World War I. Horses and mules were needed in great supply by European armies, and agents were sent in droves to Fort Worth to buy stock, spending an estimated $11 million. During that time, Fort Worth was designated the largest horse and mule market in the world. The wide space between the buildings has over the years spawned the nickname "Mule Alley". In recent years the barns have been used for various cultural activities and annual events. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.