Fort Worth History: Fort Worth Texas was settled in 1849 as an Army outpost on the fork of the Trinity River--one of eight different posts in Texas assigned to protect settlers from Indian attacks. As this thriving town became the last major stop on the legendary Chisholm Trail, it also became home to settlers and soldiers, cattle drovers and outlaws who lived it up in the legendary "Hell's Half Acre." In the latter half of the 1800s, the arrival of the railroad transformed Fort Worth into a major shipping center for livestock. With the construction of meat packing companies, Fort Worth became the second largest livestock market in the country. With the discovery of vast oil fields in West Texas, Fort Worth grew in importance as the last large commercial center before the prairie. It was in Fort Worth that deals were made and drilling supplies were procured. These freewheeling Western roots have given rise to the Fort Worth of today, a city with a deep sense of Western heritage that has been named All-America City twice in the past three decades.