Two miles north of downtown Fort Worth, off North Main Street, is the still-beating heart of Fort Worth's Old West heritage. The Stockyards National Historic District -- where women police officers patrol on horseback, and a cattle drive takes place daily on the cobblestones of Exchange Avenue -- is part Western theme park and part living history museum. The livestock industry's 1880s roots are here, and it became the biggest and busiest cattle, horse, mule, hog, and sheep marketing center in the Southwest (and quite a pocket of wealth). The 125-acre district encompasses the Livestock Exchange Building, the focus of old livestock business; Cowtown Coliseum, the world's first indoor rodeo arena; Stockyards Station, the former hog and sheep pens, now overrun with Western shops and restaurants; Billy Bob's Texas, known as the world's largest honky-tonk; Western shops and authentic saloons, such as the White Elephant; and the historic Stockyards Hotel, where bar stools are topped by saddles and Bonnie and Clyde once camped out while on the lam. Such Western heroes as Gene Autry, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, and Bob Wills are honored in bronze along Exchange Avenue's Trail of Fame.
The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is held the last 2 weeks of January and first week of February. It's hands-down the time in Fort Worth to see a surfeit of rodeo performances, as well as the nation's oldest continuous livestock show. For information, call tel. 817/877-2420 or get tickets at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.fwssr.com.
Longhorn Express: Fort Worth Herd -- Amazingly, the Fort Worth Stockyards still look the part of the Old West. To enhance the atmosphere even more, a twice-daily "cattle drive," the Fort Worth Herd, takes place on the main drag, Exchange Avenue (at N. Main St.), at 11:30am and again at 4pm. About 15 head of 1-ton longhorn steers, led by cowhands dressed the part in 19th-century duds, rumble down the redbrick street past the Stockyards, on their way to grazing near the West Fork of the Trinity River and back again to the Stockyards. Claimed to be the world's only daily longhorn cattle drive, it's perfect for photo ops. The best places to view the longhorns are the front lawn of the Livestock Exchange building and from the catwalk above the cattle pens. For more information, call tel. 817/336-HERD.
Christmas in the Stockyards
A fairly new tradition in the Stockyards, Christmas in the Stockyards, is held the first Saturday in December. Perfect for families, it features games, crafts, roping lessons, a parade, and Cowboy Ride for Toys, all of which is followed by the lighting of a 45-foot tree and Christmas carols. For more information, call tel. 817/625-9715 or visit www.fortworthstockyards.org.
