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Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and the 19th-largest in the United States. The city is also large in geographic area as it covers almost 300 square miles and is the county seat of Tarrant County—the 18th most populous county in the country.

As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Fort Worth population was 534,694 (though a 2005 Census estimate placed the population at 624,067). The city is the second-largest cultural and economic center of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area (colloquially referred to as Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex), the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of 5.7 million in 12 counties.

Fort Worth was founded as a military camp in 1849, named after General William Jenkins Worth. Today, the city is portrayed as more old-fashioned and laid-back than its neighbor, Dallas. Known as "Cowtown" for its roots as a cattle drive terminus, Fort Worth still celebrates its colorful Western and Southern heritage today and bills itself as "Where the West begins."

History

In 1849, during the closure of the Mexican-American War, Major Ripley Arnold established a fort, named in honor of General William Jenkins Worth near a high bluff where the West Fork and Clear Fork of the Trinity River merge together. The fort was flooded the first year and was moved to the top of the bluff where the courthouse sits now. The fort was established to protect 19th century settlers from Indian attacks. It grew into a bustling town when it became a stop along the legendary Chisholm Trail, the dusty path where millions of cattle were driven North to market. Fort Worth became the center of the cattle drives, and later, the ranching industry. The heyday of the cattle drives was the wild era of "Hell's Half Acre," an area of town filled with gambling parlors, saloons and dance halls. During the Civil War, the town suffered and the population dwindled. However, Fort Worth recovered quickly during Reconstruction and once again was a bustling population center. In 1876, the Texas & Pacific Railway connected to Fort Worth and transformed the Fort Worth Stockyards [http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/ into a premier livestock center. When oil began to gush in West Texas, Fort Worth was at the center of the wheeling and dealing. In 2000, a tornado of F-3 classification smashed through downtown, tearing many buildings, including the Bank One tower, into shreds and scrap metal. The Bank One tower has been renovated and sold, most of which sold as condominiums.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 774.1 km² (298.9 mi²). 757.7 km² (292.5 mi²) of it is land and 16.4 km² (6.3 mi²) of it (2.12%) is water.

A large storage dam was built in 1913 on the West Fork of the Trinity River, 7 miles (10 km) from the city, with a storage capacity of 30 billion US gallons (110,000,000 m³) of water. The lake formed by this dam is known as Lake Worth. The cost of the dam was nearly $1,500,000 - a handsome sum at the time.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 534,694 people, 195,078 households, and 127,581 families residing in the city. The July 2004 census estimates have placed Fort Worth in the top 20 most populous cities (# 19) in the U.S. with the population at 603,337. Fort Worth is also in the top 5 cities with the largest numerical increase from July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004 with 17,872 more people or a 3.1% increase. * The population density was 705.7/km² (1,827.8/mi²). There were 211,035 housing units at an average density of 278.5/km² (721.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.69% White, 20.26% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 2.64% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 14.05% from other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. 29.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 195,078 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of 195,078 households, 9,599 are unmarried partner households: 8,202 heterosexual, 676 same-sex male, and 721 same-sex female households.

28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,074, and the median income for a family was $42,939. Males had a median income of $31,663 versus $25,917 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,800. About 12.7% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

See also: People of Fort Worth

Districts

Downtown

Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District

The stockyards offer a taste of the old west and the Chisholm Trail at the site of the historic cattle drives and rail access. The District is filled with restaurants, clubs, gift shops and attractions such as daily longhorn cattle drives through the streets, historic reenactments, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Billy Bob's, the world's largest country and western music venue.

Cultural district

Parks district

East Fort Worth

In more recent years, east Fort Worth has been referred to as "Funkytown" rather than "Cowtown," mainly by urbanites. In the last two decades of the 20th century, when the Blood and Crip gangs started migrating from California, east Fort Worth was often referred to as "Murder Worth" or "Little Chicago", as hundreds of bodies started showing up with insufficient amounts of evidence required to bring those responsible to justice, thus increasing the murder rate. East Fort Worth has since then changed, as the size and skill of the police force has rapidly increased.

Uptown / Trinity

The Tarrant Regional Water District, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Streams & Valleys Inc, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating in an effort to develop an area north of "downtown" as "uptown" along the Trinity River. This plan promotes a large mixed use development adjacent to the central city area of Fort Worth, with a goal to prevent urban sprawl by promoting the growth of a healthy, vibrant urban core. The Trinity River Vision lays the groundwork to enable Fort Worth's central business district to double in size over the next 40 years. *

Other

Transportation

Education

Public schools

Most of Fort Worth is served by Fort Worth Independent School District.

Other school districts that serve portions of Fort Worth include:

The portion of Fort Worth within the Arlington Independent School District contains a wastewater plant. No residential areas are in the portion.

Private High Schools

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worthoversees several Catholic elementary and middle schools.[http://www.fwdioc.org/default.aspx?id=9

Colleges and Universities

Sports

Fort Worth is home to the NCAA football Alltel Wireless Bowl (previously titled the Fort Worth Bowl) as well as four professional sports teams. Local off-road bicyclists find ride partners and trail information at the Cowtown Area Mountain Bike Association *.

Professional Sports Teams

Club Sport Founded League Venue Logo

Fort Worth Cats Baseball 2001 AAIPBL LaGrave Field

Fort Worth Brahmas Hockey 1997 Central Hockey League Fort Worth Convention Center

Fort Worth Flyers Basketball 2005 NBA D-League Fort Worth Convention Center

Texas Tycoons Basketball 2004 American Basketball Association Blue Line Arena

Sister cities

Fort Worth is a part of the Sister Cities International program and maintains cultural and economic exchange programs with its 7 sister cities.

External links

Cultural District

Downtown

Cities in Texas | Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex | Denton County, Texas | Fort Worth, Texas | Tarrant County, Texas | County seats in Texas | Eponymous cities

Форт Уърт | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | フォートワース | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Fort Worth | 沃斯堡

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Fort Worth, Texas".

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