Fort Worth Rides High on Cowboy Culture

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan brings film and TV projects to town.

- PETER CORBETT

The Fort Worth Herd, a living tribute to the city's cattle-driving past, makes its way down Exchange Avenue in the historic Stockyards.

Fort Worth has acquired a pack of nicknames since the fort was established in 1849: Cowtown, Funky Town, Panther City, Wall Street of the West and the Modern West.

By any name, Fort Worth seems to be having a moment. It topped one million residents last year, eclipsed Austin as Texas' fourth most populous city and moved up to the nation's 11th largest city. And the Times of London declared that Fort Worth has moved past Austin as the coolest city in Texas.

The western cousin of Dallas, Fort Worth embraces its cowtown heritage even as it has grown up into a vibrant new West city of cowboys and culture.

The Sid Richardson Museum offers an intimate gallery filled with exquisite Western art from one of Texas' most famous oilmen

“When people think of Texas they think of cowboys, cowboy hats, the boots, the horses, the longhorns. They really can only get all that in Fort Worth,” said Alex Catterton of Fort Worth’s tourism office.

“One of my favorite things about our city is it’s really like a triangle with downtown, the stockyards and cultural district all within a 10- or 15-minute drive of each other,” she said.

Deep in the heart of Fort Worth is its stockyards historic district, featuring a twice-daily cattle drive of Texas Longhorns through its streets.