A Guide To Historic Sites In Fort Worth And Tarrant County

Keep this handy guide in your glove compartment or purse. Historic sites and buildings in this book have some type of official historical designation. Maps guide you to sites in Fort Worth and surrounding communities, and lively text expands on the history of each entry.

Presents black-and-white photos and text profiles of nearly eighty architecturally and historically significant buildings in Fort Worth, Texas, all built before 1945.

Fort Worth is an American city quintessentially founded upon change. From its birth to the present, Fort Worth has consistently built and reshaped its appearance, ideals, and industry. Through changing fortunes, Fort Worth has continued to grow and prosper by overcoming adversity and maintaining the strong, independent culture of its citizens. Historic Photos of Fort Worth captures this journey through still photography selected from the finest archives. From the Texas Spring Palace to Armour and Swift, the Carnegie Library to the Casa Manana and Frontier Centennial, Historic Photos of Fort Worth follows life, government, education, and events throughout the city's history. This volume captures unique and rare scenes through the lens of hundreds of historic photographs. Published in striking black and white, these images communicate historic events and everyday life of two centuries of people building a unique and prosperous city.

The deadline was the hour of adjournment of the 1876 Texas legislative session. The Texas and Pacific Railroad was on the edge of losing a fifteen-million-dollar land grant if it failed to complete the track to Fort Worth on time. For the struggling frontier town, the stakes were higher – its very future was on the line. Known as a prairie oasis, Fort Worth had grown into a bustling town during the time when cowboys moving their herds north to market stopped for supplies an da little entertainment and refreshment in the saloons and dance halls before heading out into the hot sun and dusty plains. Business was brisk in these times, but the days of the long trail drive were numbered. "Cowtown" needed a railroad to survive. Construction of the Texas and Pacific line proved difficult and slow. Confidence sagged under debts brought on by a nationwide banking crisis. During the lowest point, a letter to the editor of the Dallas Herald compared Fort Worth to a cemetery. But Fort Worth refused to die. Where the West Begins chronicles this railroad race to Fort Worth and the subsequent rise of "Cowtown" as a livestock center. Completion of the railroad link to Fort Worth also proved a decided asset for Tarrant County, attracting links from more railroads and new industries. The new county would soon be on its way to becoming the successful and prosperous region it is today. Written by Janet L. Schmelzer, Where the West Begins traces Fort Worth's energetic advance from the days of a cattle town through the era of oil and aviation, and today's high technology and finance – while showcasing Tarrant County's pride in its Western heritage and culture. This is the exciting story of a vibrant county and its primary city that unfolds in a dramatic visual adventure. Truly, here is the story of where the West begins.