Welcome to Fort Worth!
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States, and voted one of
"America’s Most Livable Communities."
Situated in North Texas, Fort Worth covers nearly 300 square miles in Tarrant and Denton counties, serving as the county seat for Tarrant County.
As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, Fort Worth had a population of 653,320. It has become one of the fastest growing cities in the country due
to its warm climate, numerous business opportunities, low cost of living and wide array of attractions. The city is the second-largest cultural
and economic center of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population
of 6 million in 12 counties.
Established originally in 1849 as a protective Army outpost at the foot of a bluff overlooking the Trinity River, the city of Fort Worth today
still embraces and boasts of being more down-home, laid-back, and is proud of its traditionally old-fashioned ways when compared to its larger,
more flashy eastern neighbor, Dallas.
Fort Worth still celebrates its colorful Western heritage that is deeply rooted in strong Southern influences. Fort Worth's legendary "Western
heritage" was made possible by settlers from the Old South looking for a new start. Fort Worth can be called a "gateway" to a cultural region,
sometimes referred to as the "Western South."
In 1843, the Republic of Texas commissioners signed a treaty with the Native American tribes dividing the new frontier. Native Americans were
given the land to the left of an imaginary line, while the settlers were given the land to the East. This imaginary line became known as the
place 'where the West begins'.
By the 1840's scores of Americans from the East coast were moving westward. As Ranchers and Settlers from the Eastern states made their way into
the area, Native Americans retreated from the North Texas frontier. Meanwhile, tensions mounted between the Republic of Texas and its southern
neighbor, Mexico, since Texas' victory over Mexico at San Jacinto in 1836.
|