Somewhere between Dallas and Fort Worth is the dividing line between the East and the West. Dallas is sophisticated and fashionable; Fort Worth is proudly simple and open. The city's predominant industry, cattle (for a long time symbolized by the historic Fort Worth Stockyards), has been joined by the oil, grain, aircraft, and computer industries, creating a modern metropolis full of shops, restaurants, theaters, and nightspots that somehow continue to reflect a distinctly Western character.

In the mid-19th century, Fort Worth was a camp (never a fort) with a garrison to protect settlers. It was later named Fort Worth in honor of General William J. Worth, a Mexican War hero. After the Civil War, great herds of longhorn cattle were driven through the area en route to the Kansas railheads. Cowboys camped with their herds outside of town and "whooped it up" at night.

By 1873, the Texas & Pacific Railroad had reached a point 26 miles east when its backers, Jay Cooke & Co, failed. The population fell from 4,000 to 1,000, and a Dallas newspaper commented that Fort Worth was a place so dead that a panther was seen sleeping on the main street. In response to this insult, Fort Worth called itself "Panther City," and the long-term feud between Fort Worth and Dallas had begun.

A group of citizens headed by K. M. Van Zandt formed the Tarrant County Construction Company and continued the building of the railroad. In 1876, the T&P had a state land grant that would expire unless the road reached Fort Worth before the legislature adjourned. While efforts were made to keep the legislature in session, practically everybody in Fort Worth went to work on the grading and laying of track.

The legislature finally decided to adjourn in two days. It seemed impossible that the line could be finished. The desperate Fort Worthians improvised cribs of ties to bridge Sycamore Creek and for 2 miles laid the rails on ungraded ground. The city council is said to have moved the city limits east to meet it. The first train, its whistle tied down, wheezed into town on July 19, 1876. Fort Worth had become a shipping point.

In 1882, the free school system was begun, and the first flour mill started operations. In 1883, the Greenwall Opera House was host to many famous stars. In 1870, a local banking institution, now known as Nations Bank, opened. Oil did not come in until 1917, but in the years before and since, Fort Worth has continued to grow. The headquarters for several well-known American companies are located in Fort Worth.