FORT WORTH
Established as an Army outpost in 1849, Fort Worth bloomed as a western town on the Chisholm Trail. Almost overnight it became "Cowtown," so nicknamed because the herds ran right down Main Street to pasture across the Trinity River. Fort Worth was the last stop before Kansas and the first on the return trail for weary cowboys.
With the advent of the railroad in 1876, Fort Worth's raw frontier edges began to soften. "Cowtown" turned into a city with libraries, churches, schools, and paved streets. Fort Worth began to attract businesses, from the oil industry to the huge aviation industry which developed the Air Force's B-36, B-58, F-11, and F-16.
Today, Fort Worth is home to almost half a million people and to a well-managed business and cultural climate. Key businesses include American Airlines, Alcon Laboratories, ARA Manufacturing, Bell Helicopter-Textron, Burlington Northern Railroad, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Pier I Imports, RadioShack Corporation, and Uniden.
Opportunities for advanced education in Fort Worth include Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, and the multicampus Tarrant Community College. Tarrant County is also the home of The University of Texas at Arlington.
Some of the nation's finest cultural attractions that reside in Fort Worth include the treasures of the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum and the Amon Carter Museum. There are also the Museum of Science and History, Omni Theater, Noble Planetarium, the Fort Worth Ballet, Fort Worth Opera, and Fort Worth Symphony.
For children of all ages, Fort Worth and the surrounding area boasts the Botanic Gardens, Fort Worth Zoo, Log Cabin Village, Tarantula Railroad, Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, and Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. Area professional sports include the Dallas Cowboys Football, Texas Rangers Baseball, Dallas Mavericks Basketball,