World Wide Words; Panther City (1883, Fort Worth)

[Laurence Horn]

At 1:53 AM -0400 8/12/06, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>PANTHER CITY (FORT WORTH)
>...
>One of the most bizarre city nicknames is "Panther City" for Fort Worth.

I suppose the inhabitants (some of them, anyway) prefer it to
Cowtown, popularized by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys' "Big Ball's
in Cowtown" (note the key apostrophe), but antedating that 50's
classic by several decades, I imagine.  Whether Fort Worth was
already Cowtown before it was Panther City I can't say.

LH

>America's Historical Newspapers (at the NYPL) has the digitized Dallas Morning
>News and Texas Siftings, so perhaps someone can beat me to the
>posting punch on
>  this one.
>...
>This is not in the revised OED under "panther." Any HDAS interest?
>...
>...
>_http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/panther_city_fort_worth_nickn
>ame/_
>(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/panther_city_fort_worth_nickname/)
>...
>
>_http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Fort-Worth-History.html_
>(http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Fort-Worth-History.html)
>
>Post-Civil War reconstruction brought many disillusioned Confederates to
>Texas in search of jobs and  new beginnings. Commerce grew along with the
>population. Yankees wanted meat,  and Texas had a ready  supply.
>During this time
>rumors grew of a panther that stalked and  slept on the city streets
>at night. A
>Dallas newspaper ran a story claiming that  Fort Worth was so drowsy,  a
>panther was found  sleeping on Main Street. Fort  Worth citizens
>good-naturedly dub
>bed their hometown "Panther City," and many  local merchants and sports teams
>adopted the animal in their logos.
>...
>...
>15 June 1883, Galveston (TX) <i>News</i>, pg. 2:
>Fort Worth, "where the panther lay down" in daylight only a few years ago,
>is now behind the rival city of Dallas as a place where "things that own not
>man's dominion dwell." The technical bulls and bears on change in the city are
>within speaking distance of the real beasts around it.
>...
>...
>21 January 1886, San Antonio <i>Daily Express</i>, pg. 4:
><i>FROM FORT WORTH.</i>
><i>Arrival of the Panther City's  Pet.</i>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org