Membership Tour to Highlight Possibilities in Fort Worth Packinghouse
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Fort Worth, now affectionately known as Cowtown, once upon a time had to lure meatpacking companies to come to Fort Worth.
In the early 1900s, Fort Worth city leaders actively worked to lure meat packing companies to the city. Armour & Co., along with Swift, moved to the Tarrant County town where the trains and the cows converged. Armour began its operations in Fort Worth in November of 1902, and the company prospered. By 1932, it was processing thousands of heads of livestock per day, and by the 1950s, the company’s campus was expanding. Times changed. The building fell into disrepair. A transformation transpired.
A portion of that original expanded complex still stands today in Fort Worth’s iconic Stockyards. The historic building, located at 601 E. Exchange Ave., will be showcased at Historic Fort Worth’s annual membership meeting and the non-profit’s first membership tour of the year on Jan. 29.
Architect and Builder
Credited as the building’s architect is Wyatt C. Hedrick, an architect and builder who influenced Fort Worth’s early development. Born in Virginia, he moved to Texas in 1913, where he founded his construction company the next year. By 1919, he boasted offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and El Paso. The Armour building’s contractor was Thomas Sneed Byrne, a native Texan and a 1913 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His other work included projects for Texas Christian University, American Airlines, Ben E. Keith, and the Amon G. Carter Foundation.
Eventually, Armour closed its meatpacking division in Fort Worth. More recently, the U.S. Energy Development Corp. purchased the historic structure in 2022, rescuing the then-vacant structure. A 2025 restoration, following standards set by the U.S. interior secretary’s standards and facilitated by Bennett Partners Architects, converted the building into a modern office space. The historic character remains, making it an example of repurposing a historic building successfully.
Reservations Required
Reservations are required for Historic Fort Worth’s upcoming tour to view the building’s restorations. More information is available at Historic Fort Worth‘s 2026 annual membership tour site. Tickets for non-members cost $25 per person.
Historic Fort Worth was established in 1969 to preserve the city’s historic identity through tours, restoration, research, marketing of endangered properties, and advocacy. The non-profit, led by executive director Jerre Tracy, also works to promote Fort Worth’s heritage.
