FORT WORTH, a city of northern Texas, U.S.A., 3o m. W. of Dallas, at the confluence of Clear Fork with the West Fork of the Trinity river; the county seat of Tarrant county, a port of entry in the San Antonio customs district, the greatest railway cen tre of the south-west, and the metropolis of the oil-fields and cot ton-producing area of western Texas. It is on four transcontinental highways (Bankhead, Dixie Overland, Colorado-to-Gulf and Me ridian) ; is served by the Colorado and Southern, the Frisco, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, the Missouri Pacific, the Rock Island, the St. Louis South-western, the Santa Fe, the Southern Pa cific, the Texas and Pacific and the Trinity and Brazos Valley rail ways; and has a well-equipped municipal air port (Meacham field), air mail to Chicago, the East and the cities of southern Texas, and air-transportation service. The area is 5o square miles. The population was 106,482 in 1920, of whom 15,896 were negroes and 7,359 were foreign-born white ; and was estimated by the census bureau at 170,600 in 1928. The Federal census figures for 1930, after large adjacent areas had been annexed in 1922, 1924 and 1928, were
The city has a beautiful and healthy location on a level tract above the river, at the rise of the western foothills, with an eleva tion averaging about 700 feet. The normal annual mean tempera ture is 65.3° F, and the percentage of possible sunshine during the year is 7o. Much of the city is of recent construction. Ten blocks in the business centre were destroyed by fire in 1909, and many fine sky-scrapers (hotels and office-buildings) have been built since the World War to meet the rapidly growing demands. Building permits for the four years 1924-27 represented values of over $54,000,000. The assessed valuation of property in 1927 was $166,741,585. Under the city plan commission, created by the charter of 1925, a comprehensive city plan is being developed.
There are 36 parks, containing
acres. The water supply comes from Lake Worth (14 m. long by 1 m. wide), formed by damming the West Fork 5 m. above the city, which has been developed as a beautiful recreation resort. Two new dams, to cost $6,500,000, were under construction in 1928. It is surrounded by summer homes ; Meandering Road, a 3o m. drive, follows its shore ; a popular bathing beach is maintained by the municipality ; and there is a large commercial amusement park, with a "board walk" and a casino. Work has been started on a water conservation project which involves the creation of additional large reservoirs. Natural gas is brought in by pipe lines from 15 fields, and the supply is expected to last for generations. Public schools recently built at a cost of over $3,500,000 have caught up with the needs of the rapidly growing population, and bring the total number to 44 elementary and 9 high schools. Texas Christian university (founded in 1873 at Thorp Springs as Add Ran college, moved to Waco in 1895 and to Fort Worth in 1910) has an enrolment of about 2,000. Texas Woman's college (enrol ment i,000) was established in 1914, and the older Polytechnic college, under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was merged with it. The Southwestern Baptist theological seminary (established 1916) has an attendance of 75o. There are several large hospitals, including the Methodist hospital (400 beds), completed in 1927 at a cost of $1,000,000.
Fort Worth's present era of rapid ex pansion began during the war, with the increased demand for the horses, mules, grain and other products of the south-west ; the establishment of Camp Bowie (1917), where 5o,000 national guardsmen were trained, and three flying fields for the training of Canadian and American aviators; and the erection (1918) of the United States helium gas plant, for the production of the non combustible, non-inflammable gas for the inflation of dirigibles. It has a firm foundation for the future in the development of the agricultural and mineral resources of western Texas. With the discovery of the Ranger and Burkburnett and other important oil-fields, Fort Worth became the geographical centre of the oil producing region of the south-west. By 1927 it was the focus of more pipe lines than any other city ; its six refineries had a daily capacity of 5o,000 barrels of crude oil ; and nearly all the im portant companies operating in the south-western fields had es tablished offices here. Since 1920 the transition in western Texas from ranching to stock-farming and diversified agriculture (es pecially cotton, wheat and feed crops) has added a large and pros perous population to Fort Worth's trading territory, has supplied raw materials for new industries, has stimulated meat-packing and flour and feed mills and enlarged the grain and live stock markets. Between 1920 and 1927, it is estimated, 6,000,000 ac. of new land were brought under cultivation in west Texas and the population was increased by 750,000.
Fort Worth is the largest terminal grain market, and the only primary grain market, in the South. Its elevators provide storage for 12,000,000 bu. and its flour and feed mills have a daily capacity of 65,000 barrels. It is also the largest live stock market and the largest meat-packing centre south of Kansas City. The packing plants employ over 4,000 persons and use $90,000,000 worth of live stock a year. The Texas South western Cattle Raisers Association has its headquarters here, and the South-western Exposition and Fat Stock Show brings every spring an array of fine blood stock.
Among the city's manufactures packing-house products rank first (on the basis of value), petroleum products second and grain products third. Others of importance are pumps, windmills and oil-field supplies; cotton-seed oil, cotton goods, hosiery, cement, concrete pipe, furniture, shoes, clothing and printing and publish ing. Among the publications are three daily papers, several jour nals devoted to the interests of cattle raisers and petroleum pro ducers, with the organs of the State Teachers Association and of the State Medical Association, both of which have their head quarters in the city. There are large foundries, machine shops and railroad repair shops. The output of the factories within the city limits in 1927 was valued at $109,607,001 ; the total for all the manufacturing industries of the county is estimated at about $200,000,000 annually.
As a wholesale centre Fort Worth ranks first among the cities of the south-west in the distribution of food products, the annual value of this item reaching $200,000,000. Petroleum products amount to $50,000,000. Furniture, agricultural machinery and oil field supplies are other lines in which the city's wholesalers do a large business. The Texas Wholesale Produce Association and the Texas Grain Dealers Association have their headquarters here. Banks debits to individual accounts in 1927 amounted to $1,113, 887,856. Postal receipts were $1,908,221. Fort Worth is head quarters of the U.S. Railway Mail Service, 11th district.
At the close of the Mexican War Gen. Winfield Scott sent a troop of soldiers to north Texas to establish a post for the protection of the sparsely settled territory from the Indians. It was established in 1849, and named Camp Worth after Briga dier General Worth. A few months later the war department changed the name to Fort Worth, but no fort was ever erected, and in 1853 the troops were sent to Ft. Belknap. The settlement became a trading-post for the scattered ranchers, developing some commerce in buffalo hides and bones. It had a brief boom in 1873, when the Texas and Pacific Railway began building towards it, but this collapsed when construction work was abandoned (25 m. E. of the town) on September 1, at the first crash of the great financial panic. Substantial progress began when the railway reached the city in 1876. Forth Worth had been chosen as the county seat in 186o, and had been incorporated as a city in the boom days of 1873, when it reached a population of 4,000. In 188o the population was 6,663; in 1900, 26,688; in 1910, 73,312. A commission form of government was adopted in 1906, which was superseded in 1925 by a council-manager form. In November, 1925, the citizens voted for a bond issue of $7,659,999, to be used in public improvements, the largest bond issue ever voted in a Texas city.
