Fort Worth was a struggling post-civil war frontier town in the early 1870s. It was in danger of folding up and blowing away like the West Texas dust. The nationwide panic of 1873 had stopped expansion of the T&P Railroad at Dallas, 30 miles to the east. The winter was hard on livestock and the crops. Population had plummeted from 4,000 to only 1,000 hardy souls.
A letter to the Dallas Herald claimed that a panther was seen sleeping undisturbed in the business district, which was quiet as a cemetery. Fort Worth defiantly adopted the moniker of "Pantherville" and stores saloons and other businesses added panther to their names. But alas without the connection of the railroad to the outside world, Fort Worth would never grow. Even when B.B. Paddock reprinted the infamous "Tarantula Map" in the Fort Worth Democrat, it was still only nine imaginary railroad lines that originated from Fort Worth.
The Texas legislature in 1875 decreed that all of the generous land grants to induce the railroads would cease at the conclusion of the legislative session. Hurriedly, town citizens organized the Tarrant County Construction Company with K.M. Van Zandt as president, John Hirschfield, Jesse Zane-Cetti, and W.A. Huffman as officers.
The legendary Morgan Jones was in charge of construction with Major D.W. Washburn as chief engineer. In May of 1876, the railroad was still many miles east of Fort Worth and the legislature was due to adjourn on June 6. The T&P Railroad withdrew its contract with the construction company and relieved the roadbed contractor.
The citizens of Fort Worth rallied in these dark days of history, and businessmen, farmers and ranchers went out themselves to grade the roadbed and lay the rails. But it was too little, too late.
Tarrant County's representative in Austin, Nicholas Darnell, rallied from his sickbed, and for 15 days was carried on a cot to the state capitol and voted against adjournment each day. Without the cooperation of the 1,000- person construction crew working 24 hours a day and the legislative procedures, the 15 million acres of land grants would have expired and the track would have been abandoned, dashing Fort Worth's hopes of becoming a major city.
On July 6, the tracks were still 15 miles from town (about where Stadium Drive is in Arlington.) Laying track at a mile a day, they were still 3.5 miles from town on July 15.
The city hurriedly extended its city limits one-quarter mile east to help meet the deadline. At this time, all pretense of modern construction was ignored. The track was laid on an existing horse and wagon bridge spanning Sycamore Creek and shored up with a crib of lumber and stones underneath. Tracks were laid on a winding road, held down with piles of rocks in a haphazard manner.
The locomotive engineer slowly inched the train over these tracks that were hardly held in place. In fact, it would be many months before the engine couch return to Dallas over this same line. Businesses closed so that employees could help get the track laid in time. Angles of the city brought food and drinks for the laborers.
Finally, on the morning of July 19, 1876, the train was poised to enter Fort Worth. At precisely 11:23 a.m., T&P Engine Number 20, with Engineer Kelly at the throttle, eased into Pantherville. The sleepy panther arose with such a force that the mayor had to declare the day a city-wide holiday.
The huge crowd cheered and yelled to see their dreams become reality. The 12-piece Fort Worth Coronet Band played; the Texas Legislature adjourned and the citizens partied into the night with the biggest celebration the town has ever seen. Railroad Day was by all odds the greatest day in the history of Fort Worth. Some of the speakers were so carried away by the excitement that they made predictions that someday the city would have a population of 5,000 or more.
The railroad in Fort Worth allowed the transportation of cattle, produce, and over 200,000 buffalo hides that year. More importantly, dry goods and people could now make to Fort Worth with ease. The drama of this day was reported around the country and it still resides in history books in most libraries. Fort Worth citizens continue to celebrate this day every year.