Cowtown
Fort Worth, Texas is about 30 miles from Dallas and the entire area is commonly referred to as the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Area. The Fort Worth part of this complex metropolis was initially settled as a fort in 1849 to help protect settlers against Indian attacks. During the days when cattle drives were common, the fort became a favorite stopping point along the Chisholm Trail. Later, Fort Worth became an important holding place for cattle being shipped by rail.
Today, Fort Worth is everything you’d expect from a major metropolitan area though it manages to hold on to its reputation as a rough and tumble cow town. The people are generally thought to be more “laid back” than their Dallas counterparts. Fort Worth is a good example of the merging of country and city, rural and urban. Though heavily populated, the city offers such attractions as cowboy museums in an effort to keep that country image intact.
Fast Facts
- Location: Fort Worth is located about 30 miles west of Dallas on the Trinity River in Tarrant County.
- Population: 518,122
- Housing units: 211,035
- Land area: 293 square miles
- Persons per square mile: 1,827.8
- Average annual rainfall: 31.4 inches per year
- Elevation: 612 feet above sea level
- Information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau