DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Two men named Charles — that's not a typo, that's just Fort Worth — got this whole thing rolling. Charles C.
French, a publicist for the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company, and Charles C. McFarland, a local cattleman, organized the first livestock show in north Fort Worth back in 1896. Members of the Texas Cattle Raisers Association showed up for that first one, and right there you had the seed of something that would grow for over a century.
Now, seeds need good soil, and in 1908 the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company — again with help from those Texas Cattle Raisers Association members — built a brand new coliseum in north Fort Worth. That same year, the National Feeders and Breeders Show opened its doors, and it came with a cutting horse competition and a horse show right out of the gate. A coliseum, a crowd, and horses that could cut a calf from a herd at a dead gallop.
Fort Worth was not playing around. By 1918 the event had been renamed the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, and it had grown into something that had a little something for everybody. Indoor rodeo competition.
Youth activities. And — now here's where it gets interesting — a debutante social pageant that had been popularized by the city's more prominent citizens. Rodeo dust and evening gowns, all under one roof.
Only in Texas. Then came 1943, and the show hit a wall that had nothing to do with cattle prices or weather. The show's facilities were converted for U.S. military purposes, and the show was canceled.
Just like that. But you don't build a tradition like that and let it go quietly. In 1944, the show relocated — to this very site.
And this site was no empty lot. It already held a coliseum, an auditorium, and a memorial tower that had been erected in 1936 as part of the Texas Centennial celebration. History stacked on history.
The show kept running, kept growing, kept changing its name to fit what it had become, and in 1988 it was renamed the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show. By 1995 — the same year this marker was placed, the sesquicentennial of Texas statehood — the Show had become a seventeen-day, multimillion-dollar event. Premier rodeo, equine, livestock, and exhibition all rolled into one, drawing about 800,000 people every single year.
Two men named Charles started it with a handshake and a livestock show in 1896. A hundred years later, 800,000 people were showing up annually. Fort Worth has a way of doing that.
What the marker says
Fort Worth Stock Yards Company publicist Charles C. French and local cattleman Charles C. McFarland oranized the first livestock show in north Fort Worth in 1896. Members of the Texas Cattle Raisers Association (TCRA) participated in the initial show. The Fort Worth Stock Yards Company built a new coliseum in north Fort Worth in 1908 with the help of TCRA members. That year the National Feeders and Breeders Show opened with various events including a cutting horse competition and a horse show. The event, renamed the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show in 1918, included an indoor rodeo competition, youth activities, and a debutante social pagent popularized by the City's more prominent citizens. In 1943 the show's facilities were converted for U.S. military purposes and the show was canceled. In 1944 the show relocated to this site which included a coliseum, auditorium,and a memorial Tower erected in 1936 as part of the Texas Centennial celebration. The show was renamed the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in 1988. By 1995 the Show had become a 17-day multimillion-dollar premier rodeo, equine, livestock, and exhibition event with an annual draw of about 800,000 people. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.