Looking for a True Wild, Wild West Experience? Say Hello to the Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas
The historic Fort Worth Stockyards hosts the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
There are surely plenty of places in the western United States where you can get a taste of what it might have been like to be a rancher in the late 19th century, but perhaps one destination that captures that feeling better than anywhere else is the Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in Texas. At the center of this Old West gem just outside of Dallas is a former livestock exchange that first opened its doors in 1902. But the true history of the place stretches back to 1866, when drovers began trailing cattle through Fort Worth and helped the city eventually earn the nickname “Cowtown”.
From 1876, when the railroad first arrived, up until the end of World War II, Fort Worth was the epicenter of the U.S. cattle industry, peaking in 1944 when the Stockyards processed over 5.2 million head of livestock. Things went downhill from there as newly paved roads and smaller, local livestock markets drew business away, but the legacy of the Stockyards, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, lives on.
Today, the 98-acre site still brims with the rich history of “Cowtown”, but also boasts 41 bars and restaurants, 50 shops, and a smattering of other attractions, and also hosts the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive. Have a look at some of what you might encounter, should you decide to visit, by scrolling through the photos below.
On Main Street
Quick! Before the sun blinds you, take a look at some of the spots you’ll find along East Exchange Avenue — the Stockyards’ main drag — such as Love Shack and White Elephant Saloon
At the heart of the Stockyards sits the Fort Worth Livestock Exchange Building, built in 1902, which now houses a museum
Bed, Bath & Beyond… the Livestock Exchange
Behind the Livestock Exchange Building: a vast network of animal pens, which can be traversed overhead thanks to a wooden walkway
Some real, live livestock j. chilling in a large pen behind the Livestock Exchange Building
Vittles for You, Vittles for Me
Inside Second Rodeo Brewing down Mule Alley you’ll find a lively space serving up chicken wings, nachos, and cheesesteaks, alongside an extensive drink menu
On the second level of Second Rodeo (“sure as hell ain’t my first,” they like to say), you may get the sensation that someone’s watching you if you take a second to look up…
In Soviet Russia, Cattle Drives You
Did you know the Stockyards hosts the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive? If not, you haven’t been reading this post very closely
Some Final Shots…
-LTH