Established at the fork of the Trinity River in 1849 by Major Ripley Arnold, the Fort Worth Stockyards represented the last “civilized” outpost for cowboys driving cattle to market along the famous Chisholm Trail. By the mid-1870’s, Fort Worth had become a major center for the buying and shipping of livestock, thanks to the Texas & Pacific Railroad. It soon became known as “Cowtown”. Between the 1880’s and 1950’s, the Fort Worth Stockyards grew to become the largest livestock-trading center in the southwest, and during the Great Depression, in the country. Cattle, hogs and sheep were bought and sold here, and with the building of the Horse and Mule Barns in 1912, the Stockyards hosted the largest horse and mule market in the U.S. during the First World War. The Stockyards continued to grow throughout the next few decades, reaching a commercial peak during the 1940’s.

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