Historic Fort Worth

Whether heading to a TCU football game or taking the kids to the Fort Worth Zoo you might have never known that an escape into the 19th century Texas frontier was just footsteps away!  Log Cabin Village is a living history museum devoted to the preservation of Texas heritage. Historical interpreters wearing 1800s-styled clothes bring our seven log cabins, one-room schoolhouse, smoke house, and blacksmith shop to life. One of the cabins is converted into a working grist mill which grinds more than 600 pounds of corn a year into fresh cornmeal, available for sale in our museum store.

Founders of the Village project in the 19502, Pioneer Texas Heritage Committee and members of the Tarrant County Historical Society realized that log structures, prevalent in the 1800s, were rapidly vanishing from the Texas landscape – and a portion of Texas history was vanishing with them thus providing inspiration to create a Village dedicated to log cabin culture, history and preservation.

Six log houses, dating back to the mid 1800s, were selected from the North Texas region, moved to the present site, and restored in the 1950s to early 1960s. Since 1966, it has been open to the public and operated by the City of Fort Worth.  Today, the Village is seen by more than 27,000 visitors annually from more than 45 different states and 40 countries.  Whether you’ve lived in Fort Worth all your life or are planning your next vacation here, we invite you to escape the present…experience the past at Log Cabin Village!

Now through January 2013, you have the opportunity to see the largest traveling exhibition the Amon Carter Museum of American Art has ever presented-completely free. Opening in Italy in 2010, traveling to Madrid, then Tokyo and now Fort Worth, To See as Artists See: American Art from the Philips Collection is composed of ten thematic units that takes you through a journey across time of American art. Fort Worth, the City of Cowboys and Culture is one of only three cities to host the exhibition.

Duncan Phillips, one of the few voices to champion American art as well as young struggling artists, opened The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. in 1921 as America's first museum of modern art. To See as Artists See is the first large-scale, traveling presentation of The Phillips’s celebrated collection of American art. The exhibit offering a historical narrative of the collection from 1850 to 1960, includes work by over 63 American artists including Georgia O’Keeffe, Stuart Davis, Arthur G. Dove and Walt Kuhn.

After a guided tour last week , what I found most transparent about the exhibit was Duncan Phillip's compassion for young, struggling artists and his artistic eye for paintings that at the time of purchase were worth very little. In the 1920s, Phillip purchased Edward Hopper's Sunday (pictured below) for just $600; now the painting is estimated to be worth well into the millions. This reoccurring motif is apparent throughout the exhibit and uniquely parallels that of the American Dream: taking a chance on someone or something to follow the pursuit of one's passion. Don't miss your chance to view the passion that paid off and see this incredible exhibit in the world-renowned Fort Worth Cultural District. 

Animals Alive! is taking place this Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012 in the Fort Worth Historic Stockyards! Come to Stockyards Station between 11am and 4pm for a free day of family fun! This is a great chance to get up-close with some of Texas' most unique animals, ride a pony, visit the petting zoo, and watch the amazing Fort Worth Herd Cattle Drive. Animals Alive! activities include armadillo races, pony rides, petting zoo, live animal presentations with Critterman and Fort Worth Herd Cow Camp where you can learn how life was back in the day on the legendary Chisolm Trail. Make plans for this Saturday to enjoy some fall family fun! 

The North Texas Area was fortunate enough to be chosen as the host of the 2012 Japan-America Grassroots Summit. 165 adults and students traveled from Japan to DFW International Airport on August 28^th. The Hilton Hotel in downtown Fort Worth served as a home away from home for this group. After settling in at the Hotel the group ventured to Rangers Stadium where for the Japan-America Friendship Night. The 16-member youth baseball team from the Japan city of Ishinomaki were in attendance. Many of the boys were still talking on Thursday morning about how they were able to meet Ranger’s player Yu Darvish and that he made a donation to the TOMODACHI Initiative. TOMODACHI initiative support's Japan's recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011.

The next day the group enjoyed site seeing all over the DFW Area before meeting back together in the Fort Worth Historic Stockyards for the Daily cattle drive by the Herd and an opening ceremony at Billy Bob’s Texas that will keep them talking for years to come. The following morning the group took a walking tour of downtown which included: Fire Station No.1, Sid Richardson Museum, Bass Hall and iFortWorth.

After leaving Fort Worth the group will be broken into 15 groups and will be participants in a homestay program involving 15 of the cities in the DFW area. Safe Travels to all of our new friends!

Ever wondered what it would be like to step back in time during the days of the Wild West and experience the day in the life of an American cowboy? This Saturday, July 28th, is you and your family's chance to experience the best of the West at the 5th Annual National Day of the American Cowboy in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District!

The event takes place 10:30am-4pm and is filled with fun Western heritage events for the entire family to enjoy including watermelon eating and seed-spitting contests, best mustache, hay stacking, buckaroo crafts and coloring, Fort Worth Herd Cattle Drive, Riscky’s rib-eating contest and much more! Don't miss the gunfight shows, Cowboy Celebration parade or Billy Bob's Texas' Cowboy Idol!  This event is also free, so come out and celebrate our city's amazing history and be a cowboy or girl for the day!

Want to see the wild West at its best? Every weekend at 11:45am and 4:15pm (right after the Fort Worth Herd cattle drive) come see the Legends of Texas perform a gunfight in Stockyards Station. The Legends of Texas is an organization that works to preserve Texas' great Western heritage. As a historical group, each member assumes a character, whether it be a saloon keeper, a Texas Ranger, Sam Houston or the famous John Wayne. You never know who you will see at the next Summer Gunfights in the Historic Stockyards. Step back in time during this free event, running every weekend through Labor Day!

I am currently on a world trip for a fishing scholarship awarded to me by Nuffield Australia. This scholarship has allowed me to travel through Europe and the Americas to look into different fishing methods. It is through this that I made my way to Fort Worth as it was a stop I needed to make on the One World Alliance round the world ticket.  As an Australian, when I think of Texas, I think of cowboys, and that was the stimulus to stop for more than just a connecting flight into Dallas-Fort Worth, and I am glad that I made this stop as we thoroughly enjoyed our time in this place.

-Rhys Arangio 

Only in Fort Worth, can you watch seventeen Texas longhorns parade down a main street in the Historic Stockyards, and get to know the Fort Worth Herd drovers who make it happen everyday, twice a day.

Only in Fort Worth, can you and your family pick out a horse at Stockyards Stables and go for a horseback ride along the Trinity River Trails.

Only in Fort Worth, can you get a complete tour and tasting at Rahr & Sons Brewery, and afterward, enjoy some authentic Mexican appetizers on the patio of Hacienda San Miguel.

Only in Fort Worth, can you experience an intimate viewing of current productions at the Noble Planetarium in the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

Now the list goes on and on in the "City of Cowboys and Culture", but you could win one of these four amazing Fort Worth experiences by entering our May "Only in Fort Worth" Sweepstakes! All you need to do is fill out basic information and answer the Fort Worth trivia question correctly to enter. You will find monthly sweepstakes on FortWorth.com, so make sure to check back often for updates and new prizes.  So, what are you waiting for? Enter today! Good luck! 

Hometown:  Fort Worth, Texas

Occupation: Sales Manager at the Stockyards Hotel

Ideal Day in Fort Worth:  My ideal day in Fort Worth is spent with my family: my husband and I have two little girls, ages 4 and 6.  We love to ride the Trinity Train with them and enjoy a picnic in the Trinity Park afterwards.

What do you like most about working in the tourism/hospitality industry?  I love showing off my hometown and the Fort Worth Stockyards to new people.  It is so fun to see their reactions to the Fort Worth Herd, the saddle bar stools in our bar, Booger Red’s Saloon, the Buffalo Butt sticking out of the bar, the history at the Stockyards Hotel and the Historic Stockyards. They love it!  

How would you describe Fort Worth to a visitor?  I think the FWCVB says it perfectly with the tagline, ”City of Cowboys & Culture”.  Fort Worth is a small, big city where I always tell people that everything in Fort Worth is about five minutes away, which most are amazed about.  You can enjoy everything the Fort Worth Stockyards has to offer, visit the Cultural District to enjoy some of the world's finest museums and enjoy lunch at Lucille's on Camp Bowie Blvd. Attend a Broadway Show at Bass Hall in Downtown/Sundance Square or you can take your family to the Fort Worth Zoo and and have a picnic in Trinity Park--all just five minutes from each other.

What makes Fort Worth different than any other destination?  I think the charm and friendliness of the people make Fort Worth different from other locations.  Fort Worth has great museums, wonderful food, great venues and hotels, a deep cattle history and SO MUCH more. 

National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum might be quite the mouthful, but it is FULL of unique treasures from Fort Worth and our nation's history.  It is the only museum in Fort Worth that is dedicated to the multicultural cowboys and cowgirls of the west. Come and visit the unique, historical accounts of how cowboys lived, dressed and saddled up in the colorful exhibit area. One-of-a-kind buckles, saddles and memorabilia are on display by World Calf Roping Champion, Fred Whitfield, Rodeo Legend Charles Sampson and three time IPRA Steer Wrestling Champion, Ronnie Fields. 

The museum is perfect for introducing children of all ages to our nation's history. You can hear historians, meet cowboys, cowgirls and Buffalo Soldiers through special events, seminars and lecture programs. In fact, they even host Buffalo Soldier camp outs for Boy Scouts and are currently holding gardening classes at the new Pam Grier Community Garden (3534 E. Berry Avenue, Ft. Worth, Texas 76105). They've got an array of activities coming up, especially for the National Day of the American Cowboy in July, so stay tuned because you won't want to miss out! 

Visit the Museum Wednesday-Friday: 12-5pm, Saturday: 11am-5pm (Free Children Storytelling 11am-1pm). Click here for more info on the NMWHM. 

We love Fort Worth. 

Fort Worth is the kind of town where men look you in the eye and open doors for women.  Fort Worth is the kind of town where you can take your kids on a bike ride to grab a burger, run a maze, and watch a cattle drive.  Fort Worth is the kind of town where jeans are accepted, if not preferred at the highest rated restaurants and museums in the city.  And Fort Worth is the kind of town where you mention you are writing a book, and people bend over backwards to help you succeed.    

Did we mention we love Fort Worth?  

Goodnight Cowtown is the kind of book that wrote itself.  We found ourselves surrounded with one of the most interesting, culturally significant, and historic towns in this country and the sweet, bedtime classic Goodnight Moon as our inspiration.  The marriage of the two was natural, and we truly enjoyed the creative process. In fact, Fort Worth has so much to offer that our only struggle was our not being able to include everything that makes us proud to call it home.  It is our hope that Goodnight Cowtown will serve as a tour guide for those new to the city, a memento for those that have to leave, and a timeless tribute for us all. 

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Authors of Goodnight Cowtown: Jennifer Drez (left) and Robin Bumstead (right)

Hometown: Fort Worth (Jennifer) and Midland, Texas (Robin)

Occupation: Moms, Publicists, Publishers, Distributors, oh, and Authors!

Describe Fort Worth in three words: Unique, Treasure, Incredible

Fort Worth Hidden Gem: Sapristi’s on Forest Park.  It’s like stepping into Paris.

Favorite Fort Worth Attraction: Concerts in the Garden series at the Botanic Garden.

Describe your ideal day in Fort Worth:  Our ideal day would be filled with all of Fort Worth’s family activities: from a ride on the Trinity and lunch at Joe T’s, to a day at the zoo followed by the Main Street Arts Festival.  There is always so much to do, it’s hard to pick.

Learn more about Goodnight Cowtown.