W.O. (William Oran) Rominger, Stockman, 1870-1926, William Oran Rominger was born in 1870 and in 1904 moved his family from Cleburne, Texas to Fort Worth and started W.O. Rominger & Co. Horse and Mules with his brother C.O. Rominger. Rominger became a prominent businessman in Fort Worth and the Stockyards and was influential and suportive civic projects such as the building of the Cowtown Coliseum, The Texas Hotel and the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

In 1910 he was one of the organizers of Fort Worth Improvement District No. 1, an effort to fix the city’s levee problem (and Stockyards flooding) around the Trinity River. By 1914, WWI raised demand for good horses and mules and Rominger’s company became one of the largest providers for the war effort, shipping horses and mules to France and Great Britain. He eventually contracted to provide 13,000 head through British and French agencies.

Rominger died in 1926, at the age f 56 while working cattle on his Bridgeport, Texas ranch. He is remembered for his civic-mindedness and love of Fort Worth in addition to his contributions to the horse and mule industries in the early 1900’s.