The New Student's Reference Work/Fort Worth

Fort Worth, a city and important railroad center in northern Texas, county-seat of Tarrant County, lies where the West and Clear Forks of Trinity River flow together, about 170 miles north of Austin. It is, next to Dallas, the most important railroad-center in northern Texas, and is the greatest horse and mule-market of the southwest. The country surrounding it is a rich farming region, producing cotton, grain and fruits. The water-supply is obtained from Clear River and two hundred artesian wells. In 1907 it had 60 miles of electric railways. The court-house, city-hall, chamber of commerce and high-school buildings are noteworthy, as are also several of the churches. The swimming-school, costing $70,000, is one of the institutions of the city. Besides large stock-yards and meat-packing establishments, here are the car-works and shops of the Fort Worth and Denver, Texas Pacific and Rio Grande railroads. The Roman Catholics have an academy, and Fort Worth University is located here, as is also a Polytechnic College. The city possesses an excellent public-school system, several business colleges and a medical school. There are rolling-mills, iron-foundries, a jute-factory, a woven-wire factory and manufactories of flour, cotton and woolen goods, leather etc. There was but one house within the city-limits in 1872; the number of its inhabitants in 1876 was only a little over 1,000. The population, which in 1900 was 26,688, is at present 73,312.