Fort Worth Zoological Park
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The oldest continuous Zoo site in Texas, the Fort Worth Zoological Park has provided its visitors with many recreational and educational opportunities since 1909. The first Zoo in Fort Worth was a small menagerie then located in an old City Park and operated by the newly established Park Board. After a 1909 flood destroyed the animal collection, George Vinnedge, the city's first Park Superintendent, chose this site for a new Zoo. Over the years, the Zoo has experience a steady growth in facilities and additions to its collection, largely due to community support and concern. (1983)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Fort Worth Zoo traces its roots to a modest 1909 menagerie in an old city park, run by the newly formed Park Board. When a flood that year wiped out the original animal collection, the city's first park superintendent, George Vinnedge, chose this site for a fresh start. From those small beginnings it grew — largely on community goodwill — into the oldest continuously operating zoo site in Texas.
Why it matters
The zoo reflects the Progressive-era faith in public parks and civic institutions as places of recreation and learning for ordinary citizens.
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Related people
- · George Vinnedge
Themes & tags
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