| The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000. |
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| Fort Worth |
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Fort Worth, city (1990 pop. 447,619),  Tarrant co., N Texas; 32°45'N 97°20'W. Downtown Fort Worth is 30 mi/48 km W of downtown Dallas; a NNE extension of the city’s corporate limits to S entrance of Dallas–Fort Worth Internatl. Airport (and to co. line) puts the city boundary within 5 mi/8 km of Dallas city limits. Most of the urban expansion of the Dallas–Fort Worth area has radiated out from Dallas; most of Fort Worth’s growth has been to E and NE, toward Dallas. Drained by W Fork and Clear Fork of Trinity R., and several branch creeks. An army post was est. in 1847, and after the Civil War the settlement became a cow town. The first RR (completed 1876) helped establish it as a meat-packing and cattle-shipping point. Later in the 19th cent., the city became a prime center for milling and shipping grain. In 1919 oil was discovered W of here, and large refineries and other oil and gas installations were built. The city was financially revitalized by the construction of major industrial parks in the 1980s just N of the city. Oil, cattle, and grain remain important, but newer industries, such as aerospace and electronic equip mfg., wholesaling, transportation, communications, bldg. materials, and food processing, have led to great industrial and economic development. The aircraft industry is the largest in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. The Dallas–Fort Worth Internatl. Airport was the largest in the world when it was opened in early 1974. Specialized foreign air freight facility. Fort Worth is the seat of Texas Christian Univ. (Amon Carter Stadium), Texas Wesleyan Univ., Tarrant Co. Junior Col. (3 campuses around city) (S and NW campuses in city, NE campus in Hurst), and a Baptist seminary. Points of interest include Tarrant County Convention Center, Tarrant County Courthouse (1895), the Mus. of Science and History, the Health Mus., art museums and centers, Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge to NW, Stockyards Historic Area; Eagle Mt. Natl. Guard Base to NW; a botanic garden, a zoo, an aquarium, a planetarium, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and Heritage Hall. Area reservoirs include Eagle Mt. L. and L. Worth to NW, Benbrook L. to SW, Grapevine L. to NE, L. Arlington on E boundary. Settled 1843, inc. 1873. | | | | Capital city or county seat is shown by the symbol |
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| | | The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. Copyright © 2000 Columbia University Press. |
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