Meat Me in Fort Worth (CEC)

The ultimate goal of most cattle drives was to turn cattle into meat for human consumption. This transformation took place at slaughter houses and packing plants. Most of these factory processing centers required rail connections. When the railroad reached Fort Worth in the late 1870s, the packing plants followed. This is an image of the Armour and Swift plants near the north side stockyards. Cattle would have been held in the pens until their day of destiny arrived.