February 18, 2022

FORT WORTH HISTORIC STOCKYARDS DISTRICT

131 E Exchange Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76164

“The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, north of the central business district. A 98-acre portion encompassing much of the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in 1976.” - Wikipedia

No trip to Fort Worth would be complete with a visit to the Stockyards National Historic District.

After easily finding a paid parking spot I started my exploration of the area at the Stockyards Museum. I had visions of a building with displays of cowboys herding cattle through mazes of pens made of wooden fences, stories of cattle drives being disrupted by thunderstorms, and the rise and fall of the third largest stockyards in the country. Instead, I found one room, albeit a large room, filled with memorabilia from the Livestock Exchange building in which it is housed along with many other relics with some connection to the area. It reminded me of a small, rural, county museum where if an item is old and has a tie to the county it is put on display. There were some interesting exhibits, even if they had seemingly no connection to the stockyards.  I venture to say I was through the museum in 15 minutes, 20 minutes tops. From there I went out a back door to what is left of the stockyards with pens making up a small fraction of what used to be here. The pens that remained appeared to be neglected with weathered wood fencing, gates off their hinges, and weeds growing up through the brick floor. It was still fascinating to think about how bustling a place this must have been at the turn of the century.  From the raised walkway you could see the Longhorn cattle that would be used in the cattle drive later.

The whole area had a vibe of county fair with a touch of Wall Drug.  For a fee you could pose for a picture atop a Longhorn steer, ride a mechanical bull, or take a tour of the district in a covered wagon pulled by two mules.  The barns that used to house cattle, hogs, and sheep are now home to boutique shops selling all kinds of western wear and souvenirs along with food stands and restaurants.   

To pass some time, I ventured to the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.  I’m sure the people honored are very deserving, but other than their name and their induction category it was difficult to learn much about the honorees because of the way the display cubicles are erected.  Other than entertainers like Willie Nelson and George Strait, I didn’t recognize a lot of people being honored.  There were a couple surprise honorees to me, Nolan Ryan and Tommy Lee Jones.  After doing some research I have learned both gentlemen were born in Texas, and both have ties to cattle ranching besides their baseball and acting careers respectively.

Next up was the much-hyped cattle drive. Pull up a tourist site of Fort Worth and you’ll probably see a picture of Longhorn cattle being herded down the street. A crowd started gathering about thirty minutes before the parade, then as an announcer started his spiel people gathered three to four people deep along the whole three or four blocks of the Exchange Avenue route. Right at 4 pm the drovers brought the dozen Longhorns down the street without much fanfare or drama, and by 4:06 they were gone. The cattle were impressive and for a brief minute it was pretty exciting.

For dinner I decided to try Texas BBQ at Cooper’s BBQ. My review: the food was good, but very expensive.  At this restaurant you pick up your meat buffet style and pay for those by the weight, I had beef ribs and a pork chop.  Their website says they are charging “market value” for the meats which meant $26.00/lb. for the beef ribs and $20.99/lb. for the pork chop.  Then sides of Mac-n-Cheese and potato salad were $4 each. With drink and tips my bill came to $45. The dining was basically a finished poke barn, with little decoration. Seating was at picnic tables, and you were given a place mat to eat off of, no plate.  While the food was good, it just wasn’t the experience I feel the need to repeat.

My evening ended with a rodeo in the Cowtown Coliseum, the building where the first indoor rodeo was held.  You can see my thoughts about the rodeo along with pictures in another post.

The Fort Worth Stockyards were everything I thought it would be.  It was an entertaining afternoon and evening; one I will do again if I get back to Fort Worth.