May 24th The Fort Worth Stock Yards

Gateway to the Fort Worth Stock Yards, 1910

One of the other recommendations I received from Roger was that I should visit the historic Stock Yards. He warned me that it was touristy but said it was important to visit in order to understand the City of Fort Worth. This had been a big day starting at AAA, the Cowgirl Museum and the Kimball Art Museum, so I wasn’t sure I had the energy to add a visit to the Stock Yards but I decided to go and am glad I did.

Part of a mural in the Visitor Center

The Stock Yards are where ranchers brought their horses, mules, cattle and pigs to be sold and distributed to the rest of the United States. During WWI they provided the horses and mules needed in the war effort. Cattle were herded from throughout Texas and other states to this location where they were placed in pens before being processed and shipped out by train. The pens, yards, barns and processing equipment were all state of the art. Fort Worth was one of the greatest cattle markets in the world. Between 1866 and 1890 it was the last stop on the Chisholm Trail and the true start of the west beyond.

This map shows where all the cattle came from to Fort Worth

A mural inside the visitor center showed that between 1896 to 1959 1.5 million horses and mules passed through the yards, 50 million cattle, 50 million sheep, and 33 million hogs – that’s a lot of steak and pork chops. At its peak the Fort Worth Exchange Building was like the “Wall Street of the West”.

Some of the pens with their brick paving, several buildings and the historic gateway built in 1910 are still there. The Stock Yards Company, Livestock Commission and Buyer’s Building still houses active businesses and a small Stock Yards museum. It made a good finale to a great day in Fort Worth.

Mural showing numbers of animals shipped through the Stock Yards

Stockyards Company, Livestock Commission & Buyer's Building

Interior of the Stockyards Company Building

A small portion of the stock pens that remain today

 

The yards were all paved with brick and were washed down each day

This historic photo from the museum shows the extent of the
yards and the trains on the left

Coliseum M Building, 1908

Found this painting of Babe before she went into the movies.
Cowboy unknown

Interior of the Coliseum M Building 

The saddle bar stools were pretty comfortable