The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce traces its history to 1882 when the Fort Worth Board of Trade first organized. During the early years, local business leaders promoted Fort Worth as the “queen city of the plains.” The beautiful 1888 red sandstone Board of Trade building at 7th and Houston was home to the Board of Trade for several years. In 1900, Capt. B.B. Paddock and other business leaders reorganized and revitalized the Board of Trade, which then helped attract the Armour and Swift companies to the Fort Worth Stockyards in 1902. In 1912, the Board of Trade changed its name to the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and it undertook many economic development programs to market the city for agricultural businesses, ground distribution companies, oil and gas firms, aviation services and manufacturing, military facilities, educational institutions and conventions. As early as the 1920s, the Chamber included a department to solicit conventions to the city. In 1986, that department, the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, became a separate organization.

SPONSORED BY: FORT WORTH CHAMBER FOUNDATION