Fort Worth

“ Fort Worth has an annual trade valued at $30,000,000; it is the centre of a vast stock-raising country, and is an important cotton market. The industrial establishments include stock-yards, packing houses, grain-elevators, flour-mills, tanneries, breweries, railroad repair-shops, foundries and machine-shops, cotton and oil mills, etc. Settled in 1849, Fort Worth was incorporated in 1872, The government is administered under a charter of 1900, by a mayor elected biennially, and a council which controls the appointments to most of the subordinate municipal offices. ”

“ Their names are household words with the older citizens and will never be forgotten. They are inscribed on the tablets of their memories never to be effaced.
A great number of those who left Fort Worth at that time went to Dallas. Some of them have become prominent factors in the development of the city. There was little or no business left to Fort Worth, except the spring cattle drive. That brought business to a few. The town was dead as far as business and development went. The grass literally grew in the streets. ”

“ On approaching Fort Worth, still traveling slowly on account of the lateness of the spring, I decided to pay a flying visit to Palo Pinto County. It was fully eighty miles from the Fort across to the Edwards ranch, and appointing one of my old men as segundo, I saddled my best horse and set out an hour before sunset. ”

“ Following the completion of the railroad to Fort Worth came lumber yards and lumber dealers from all over East Texas. All that section of the city bounded by Houston street, Monroe street, on the east and west and by Ninth street on the north and as far south as the railroad reservation, was one vast lumber yard; and the entire country west, southwest and northwest of Fort Worth was supplied with building material from this city. Hundreds of wagons were loaded daily and the roads out of Fort Worth were lined with wagons transporting it to as far west as San Angelo and even beyond. ”

“ Austin was a county-seat town rather than a capitol city. Such communities as Temple, Waco, Cleburne, Fort Worth—all close to the ninety-eighth meridian, along which lay the general course of the first of the cattle drives before the trails moved west—were cities in embryo; Fort Worth, through which bodily the trail ran, had then not over one hundred inhabitants; enough for a metropolis in a state that had not a hundred miles of rails and no trace of a lasting market for the one great commodity—cows. ”

“ Fort Worth lies in the midst of a stock-raising and fertile agricultural region; there is an important stockyard and packing establishment just outside the city; and considerable quantities of cotton are raised in the vicinity. ”

“ Business of every kind became active and the city commenced to grow and prosper. Buildings of every kind and character were in great demand and new ones were constructed as fast as men and money could erect them.
Pending the long wait for the Texas & Pacific other roads had been chartered and organized. The Fort Worth & Denver City was the first of these. It was organized August 12th, 1873. Its personnel came from the active forces of the M. K. & T. and the Texas & Pacific. ”

“ Eagle Ford which had sprung into a town of more than a thousand was as quickly depopulated—the people for the most part moving back to Dallas. It was the opportunity for that city. Had the panic broken thirty days later so that it would have been practicable to have completed the road to Fort Worth before suspending operations, Dallas would have been a good county seat town instead of a thriving city and Fort Worth would today have been a city of a quarter of a million population. ”

“ The following morning I made inquiry for Frank Nancrede and the drovers who had driven a trail herd of cattle from Las Palomas two seasons before. They were all well known about the fort, but were absent at the time, having put up two trail herds that spring in Uvalde County. Deweese did not waste an hour more than was necessary in that town, and while waiting for the banks to open, arranged for our transportation to San Antonio. We were all ready to start back before noon. Fort Worth was a frontier town at the time, bustling and alert with live-stock interests ”

“ FORT WORTH BECOMES A CITY.
It has been stated that having nothing better to do—and there are few better things to do—the people took an active interest in politics. The first political movement of importance occurring about that time was the incorporation of the city. The Thirteenth Legislature in which Major K. M. VanZandt represented this county, passed an act authorizing the incorporation and the people were active in the preparation of a charter. ”

“ Dallas can no longer claim to be ahead of Fort Worth. The Herald and News are complaining because they have no fire brigade. Send your orders to Fort Worth, neighbor. If you will let us know a day or two before you intend to have a fire, we will be on hand with our machine. ”

“ In Fort Worth, Major Merrill, who commanded the fort, told them that the winters in Texas were so little feared “that he was in the habit of making excursions of 15 days, sometime of a month, into the prairie or forest, without serious inconvenience, and that he and his men did not often even give themselves the trouble of erecting tents for the night.” [16]
On inquiry they found that the soldiers of Fort Worth were comprised of English, French, Irish, Spaniards, Russians, Swedes; in fact, a very large portion of all the soldiers was European. ”

“ Many persons of note who have contributed to the growth of the city are not enumerated herein. This is because the memory is faulty and not with a wish to withhold credit from any. Such as it is, it will serve to refresh the memory of some and be of interest to others who are not familiar with the struggles through which Fort Worth went and from which it emerged with success. ”

“ Pursuant to notice given in the last number of the Democrat, we proceeded to the court house last Tuesday evening at precisely half past seven, to meet the citizens in mass meeting, for the purpose of becoming a member of the Fort Worth Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. We took our position on the steps of that edifice, and although the stone was a little cool, we heroically held our position until patience ceased to be a virtue. Not a soul put in an appearance. ”

“ That same afternoon an employment bureau run by Glenn & Co. shipped me for $1.00 from Fort Worth over the Fort Worth and Denver Road to Iowa Park, Tex., to do railroad construction work.
I was trying to reach El Paso, which is only 600 miles over the Texas Pacific Road from Fort Worth, but while in Fort Worth I was told it was almost as much as a man's life was worth to try to beat the T. P. road between these points, on account of the extreme cruelty of the brakemen, so I decided to go around the longest way, which would take me through New Mexico. ”

“ Fort Worth is beautifully situated on a level space above the river. It is the seat of Fort Worth University (coeducational) , a Methodist Episcopal institution, which was established as the Texas Wesleyan College in 1881, received its present name in 1889, comprises an academy, a college of liberal arts and sciences, a conservatory of music, a law school, a medical school, a school of commerce, and a department of oratory and elocution, and in 1907 had 802 students ”

“ It is said at Fort Worth, Texas, that there has not been for years such demand and inquiry for property as there is now. The influx of immigration has been unprecedented, especially in North and West Texas, many of the newcomers having located in Tarrant county, in which Fort Worth is situated. Renting agents report that the demand for houses largely exceeds the supply. ”

“ Having moved the herd up near some old missions within five or six miles of the city, with an abundance of water and some grass, Deweese went into town, visiting the commission firms and looking for a buyer. Fortunately a firm, which was expecting our arrival, had a prospective purchaser from Fort Worth for about our number. Making a date with the firm to show our horses the next morning, our segundo returned to the herd, elated over the prospect of a sale. ”

“ I hurried home, changed teams, and by night and day driving reached Fort Worth and awakened my active partner and Edwards out of their beds to get the particulars. The responsible man of a firm of drovers, with five herds on hand, had suddenly died, and the banks refused to advance the necessary funds to complete their payments. The cattle were under herd in Wise and Cook counties, both Major Hunter and our segundo had looked them over, and both pronounced the herds gilt-edged north Texas steers. ”

“ Niles was a business man and under his management with the assistance of Mr. H. A. Judd, still a citizen of Fort Worth, the plant earned money. The owners recognized the fact that the plant did not meet the requirements of the times and with the assistance of some of the public spirited people of the city they enlisted 20 the interest of Armour and Swift and secured the present establishments. Most of the thirty men who put the first money into the plant surrendered their holdings as gifts to make the deal go through. ”

“ Above Fort Worth village, head due north, to Bolivar. Then don’t go on to the Station—swing northwest up the Elm. Cross near the Spanish Fort. Feel west then for the Beaver. Then run by the North Star six hundred miles. Good water and grass. You can make all crossings. Time about two months. Keep west of the Whisky Trail. Herd cutters and thieves. Watch out all the time for Indians.
Which, to a trail boss wholly without map, guide or knowledge of the far and unknown country of the north on ahead, must have seemed a godsend, even lacking authenticity or origin. ”

“ Major Hunter had been burning the wires between Fort Worth and Washington, in order to hold the matter open until I came in for a consultation. The department had offered half a cent a pound over and above our previous bid, and we bribed an operator to reopen his office that night and send a message of acceptance. We had ten thousand cattle wintering on the Medicine River, and it would just trim them up nicely to pick out all the heavy, rough beeves for filling an army contract. ”

“ He alleged in his advertisements that it would be a division point on the Texas & Pacific. He sold a good many lots to the “sucker” element that is always ready to grab at any thing that sounds cheap. He went over to Tennessee and worked up an excursion to come and see Texas. It was farthest from his thought to show them Lamar. He only intended to let them see what a good country Texas was. Hearing about the excursion, the Democrat got out an extra edition, telling about Tarrant county in general and Fort Worth in particular. ”

“ On my return to the Clear Fork, the ranch outfit had just finished gathering from my own and adjoining ranges fifteen hundred bulls for distillery feeding. The sale had been effected by correspondence with my former customer, and when the herd started the two of us drove on ahead into Fort Worth. The Illinois man was an extensive dealer in cattle and had followed the business for years in his own State, and in the week we spent together awaiting the arrival of his purchase, I learned much of value. ”

“ I went to Leadville to attend his funeral, and later came here to Chicago, where, until I obtained my position with you, I have been at times really in need of money, as owing to my unfortunate theatrical venture all my ready money has been used, and I now have left only one piece of good real estate in Fort Worth, Texas, valued at $6,000 but encumbered for $1,700. ”

“ He sold his plant to Mr. Isaac Dahlman of the firm of Dahlman Bros., the first clothing merchants in the city. He killed cattle and sent them to Liverpool by way of Galveston, but they were so long on the way that they did not arrive in good condition. This ended the third attempt but did not dismay the people of Fort Worth. They believed that this was to become a packing house center and in 1890 thirty men got together and each agreed to put in one thousand dollars and purchase some lands and put up more money, share and share alike, as it was needed. ”

“ On February 16th a party of sixty persons from Iowa and Nebraska reached Fort Worth, Texas, on the way to the Gulf Coast to investigate the fruit-growing capabilities of that region. Most of the party are descendants of the people who built up Nebraska, and made that State take a front rank among the wealth-producing States of the Union. While most of them are doing well at home, they are anxious to live in a more congenial climate, and have had their eyes on Texas for a long time. ”

“ Houston is a busy railway centre, handling large amounts of cotton, sugar and timber, and is rapidly expanding, having sixty thousand people.
The Trinity River is the chief affluent of Galveston Bay, flowing down from Northern Texas, and having upon its banks another busy railway centre, Dallas, with fifty thousand people and an extensive trade. About thirty miles above, on Trinity River, is the old Indian frontier post of Fort Worth, now a town of forty thousand population and the headquarters of the cattle-raisers of Northern Texas. ”

“ It was finally merged into the Fort Worth Record, which has also been a paying enterprise.
The history of the Star-Telegram, another successful newspaper venture is too recent and too well known to require extended notice in this paper.
HOTELS.
The advent of the railroad created a demand for increased hotel facilities and the public-spirited citizens proceeded to supply the demand. On December 1st, 1876, a company was organized with a capital of $30,000 of which Capt. J. C. Terrell was elected President; W. J. Boaz, Vice-President; J. Q. Sandidge, Treasurer and C. K. Fairfax, Secretary. ”