"Texas Trail The Texas Trail was a historic cattle trail which was used to drive cattle from Texas to Ogallala, Nebraska and other locations on the Union Pacific Railway in Nebraska. This emerged as an alternative to the Chisholm Trail which had brought cattle to Abilene, Kansas and other locations on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Near Imperial, Nebraska are portions of a dry stone corral which served the trail. The corral was built c.1876; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Texas Trail Stone Corral. According to one source the last cattle drive over the trail"
"Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The portion of the trail marked by Jesse Chisholm went from his southern trading post near the Red River to his northern trading post near Kansas City, Kansas. Texas ranchers using the Chisholm Trail started on the route from either the Rio Grande or San Antonio, joined the Chisholm Trail at the Red River of the South at the border between Texas and Oklahoma, and continued to the railhead of the Kansas Pacific Railway in"
"Longhorn cattle were taken afoot to railheads to the north, the earliest and easternmost was the Shawnee Trail. Used before and just after the Civil War, the Shawnee Trail gathered cattle from east and west of its main stem, which passed through Austin, Waco, and Dallas. It crossed the Red River at Rock Bluff, near Preston, and led north along the eastern edge of what became Oklahoma, a route later followed closely by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. The drovers took over a trail long used by Indians in hunting and raiding and by southbound settlers from the Midwest; the latter called"
"Texas Road The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, Sedalia Trail or the Kansas Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route to Texas across Indian Territory (later Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri). Established during the Mexican War by emigrants rushing to Texas, it remained an important route across Indian Territory until Oklahoma statehood. The Shawnee Trail was the earliest and easternmost route by which Texas Longhorn cattle were taken to the north. It played a significant role in the history of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas in the early and mid-1800s. ""Of the principal routes by which Texas"
"20 million head of cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas. In Australia drives of sheep also took place. In both countries these drives covered great distances (800 miles Texas to Kansas), with drovers on horseback, supported by wagons or packhorses. Drives continued until railways arrived. In some circumstances driving very large herds long distances remains economic. Drovers' roads were much wider than those for ordinary traffic and without any form of paving. The droving routes which still exist in Wales avoided settlements in order to save front gardens and consequential expense. A weekly cattle market was founded midway between"
"eventually became part of U.S. Route 69. Texas Road The Texas Road, also known as the Shawnee Trail, Sedalia Trail or the Kansas Trail, was a major trade and emigrant route to Texas across Indian Territory (later Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri). Established during the Mexican War by emigrants rushing to Texas, it remained an important route across Indian Territory until Oklahoma statehood. The Shawnee Trail was the earliest and easternmost route by which Texas Longhorn cattle were taken to the north. It played a significant role in the history of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas in the early and mid-1800s."
"Texas ranchers raised large herds of longhorn cattle. The nearest railheads were 800 or more miles (130+ km) north in Kansas (Abilene, Kansas City, Dodge City, and Wichita). So once fattened the ranchers and their cowboys drove the herds north along the Western, Chisholm, and Shawnee trails. The cattle were shipped to Chicago, St. Louis, and points east for slaughter and consumption in the fast-growing cities. The Chisholm Trail, laid out by cattleman Joseph McCoy along an old trail marked by Jesse Chisholm, was the major artery of cattle commerce, carrying over 1.5 million head of cattle between 1867 and"
"Kansas City, Kansas. That same year, O. W. Wheeler answered McCoy's call, and he along with partners used the Chisholm Trail to bring a herd of 2,400 steers from Texas to Abilene. This herd was the first of an estimated 5,000,000 head of Texas cattle to reach Kansas over the Chisholm Trail. The construction of the Union Pacific Railway through Nebraska eventually offered a cattle drive destination which was an attractive alternative to the Kansas Pacific Railroad, and the Texas Trail emerged as an alternative to the Chisholm Trail. Some cattle drives in 1876 and up to 1884 went along"
"taking 3000 head along the Sedalia trail from San Antonio, Texas to the railhead at Sedalia. Episode four of the 1970s miniseries ""Centennial"", titled ""The Longhorns"", featured a cattle drive from central Texas to northeastern Colorado. The 1980s miniseries ""Lonesome Dove,"" based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name, centered on a cattle drive from South Texas to Montana. Cattle drives in the United States Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th century American West, particularly between 1856 and 1896 . In this period, 27 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in"
"Abilene Trail The Abilene Trail was a cattle trail leading from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. Its exact route is disputed owing to its many offshoots, but it crossed the Red River just east of Henrietta, Texas, and continued north across the Indian Territory to Caldwell, Kansas and on past Wichita and Newton to Abilene. The first herds were probably driven over it in 1866, though it was not named until Abilene was established in 1867. In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy of Illinois settled in Abilene to engage in the cattle trade. He laid out a cattle trail to connect with"
"increased significantly. By 1866, cattle could be sold to northern markets for as much as $40 per head, making it potentially profitable for cattle, particularly from Texas, to be herded long distances to market. The first large-scale effort to drive cattle from Texas to the nearest railhead for shipment to Chicago occurred in 1866, when many Texas ranchers banded together to drive their cattle to the closest point that railroad tracks reached, which at that time was Sedalia, Missouri. However, farmers in eastern Kansas, still concerned that transient animals would trample crops and transmit cattle fever to local cattle, formed"
"it the Texas Road. North of Fort Gibson the cattle route split into terminal branches that ended in such Missouri points as St. Louis, Sedalia, Independence, Westport, and Kansas City, and in Baxter Springs and other towns in eastern Kansas. Early drovers referred to their route as the cattle trail, the Sedalia Trail, the Kansas Trail, or simply the trail. Why some began calling it the Shawnee Trail is uncertain, but the name may have been suggested by a Shawnee village on the Texas side of the Red River just below the trail crossing or by the Shawnee Hills, which"
"distances to market. The first large-scale effort to drive cattle from Texas to the nearest railhead for shipment to Chicago occurred in 1866, when many Texas ranchers banded together to drive their cattle to the closest point that railroad tracks reached, which at that time was in Sedalia, Missouri. However, farmers in eastern Kansas, afraid that Longhorns would transmit cattle fever to local animals as well as trample crops, formed groups that threatened to beat or shoot cattlemen found on their lands. Therefore, the 1866 drive failed to reach the railroad, and the cattle herds were sold for low prices."
"take the place of the former trail driving of Texas cattle north to market. Cattle towns flourished between 1866 and 1890 as railroads reached towns suitable for gathering and shipping cattle. The first was Abilene, Kansas. Other towns in Kansas, including Wichita and Dodge City, succeeded Abilene or shared its patronage by riders fresh off the long trail. In the 1880s Dodge City boasted of being the ""cowboy capital of the world."" Communities in other states, including Ogallala, Nebraska; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Miles City, Montana; and Medora, North Dakota, served the trade as well. Amarillo, Fort Worth, and Wichita Falls, all"
"a ""Beef Trail"" to New Orleans. In the 1840s, cattle drives expanded northward into Missouri. The towns of Sedalia, Baxter Springs, Springfield, and St. Louis became principal markets. The Shawnee Trail, also known as the Texas Road or Texas trail, played a significant role in Texas as early as the 1840s. But by 1853, as 3,000 cattle were trailed through western Missouri, local farmers blocked their passage and forced herds to turn back because the Longhorns carried ticks that carried Texas fever. Texas cattle were immune to this disease; but the ticks that they left behind infected the local cattle."
"1871 over the from south Texas to Abilene, Kansas. The long drives were treacherous, especially crossing water such as the Brazos and the Red River and when they had to fend off Indians and rustlers looking to make off with their cattle. A typical drive would take three to four months and contained two miles (3 km) of cattle six abreast. Despite the risks, a successful drive proved very profitable to everyone involved, as the price of one steer was $4 in Texas and $40 back East. By the 1870s and 1880s, cattle ranches expanded further north into new grazing"
"Oklahoma, which then was Indian Territory, but there were relatively few conflicts with Native Americans, who usually allowed cattle herds to pass through for a toll of ten cents a head. Later, other trails forked off to different railheads, including those at Dodge City and Wichita, Kansas. By 1877, the largest of the cattle-shipping boom towns, Dodge City, Kansas, shipped out 500,000 head of cattle. Other major cattle trails, moving successively westward, were established. In 1867 the Goodnight-Loving Trail opened up New Mexico and Colorado to Texas cattle. By the tens of thousands cattle were soon driven into Arizona. In"
"its area. The Army transferred most troops elsewhere in 1871, leaving only a detachment responsible for provisions in a quartermaster depot. In 1872 the Tenth Cavalry reoccupied Fort Gibson. Soon after, workers were sent to the area to build the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad from Baxter Springs, the first ""cow town,"" in Kansas, to the Red River crossing at Colbert's Ferry, Indian Territory, along the Texas border. This would improve transportation of cattle and beef to the east as well as shipping of goods from that area to the West. The cavalry from Fort Gibson was used to police the camps of"
"Abilene, Kansas, where the cattle would be sold and shipped eastward. The trail is named for Jesse Chisholm, a half-Cherokee trader from Tennessee, who originally created the trail as a means to transport his goods from one trading post to another. By 1853, Texas cattle were being driven into Missouri, where local farmers began blocking herds and turning them back because the Texas Longhorns carried ticks that caused diseases in other types of cattle. Violence, vigilante groups, and cattle rustling caused further problems for the drovers. By 1859, the driving of cattle was outlawed in many Missouri jurisdictions. By the"
"about 10,000 cars of livestock were shipped out of Abilene and in 1872 about 80,000 head of cattle were shipped from Wichita. The settlement of the valleys of the Arkansas and the Ninnescah rivers rendered it impractical to reach Wichita shipping yards after 1873 and the loading of cattle was transferred to points on the railroad farther west, finally stopping at Dodge City. The use of the Abilene cattle trail ended in 1887. Abilene Trail The Abilene Trail was a cattle trail leading from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. Its exact route is disputed owing to its many offshoots, but it"
"drivers bringing herds of Texas longhorns north to the railroad head first at Abilene, Kansas then later to Wichita and Caldwell. In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line north-south from Caldwell, Kansas to Pond Creek in 1888. By 1893, it was incrementally built to Fort Worth, Texas. It was foreclosed on in 1891 and taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut-down in 1980. The Kansas-Texas mainline was sold to a subsidiary of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad as the Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, merging in 1988 with Missouri Pacific Railroad, which merged"
"first bar in a tent to serve thirsty soldiers from Fort Dodge. The railroad arrived in September to find a town ready and waiting for business. The early settlers in Dodge City traded in buffalo bones and hides and provided a civilian community for Fort Dodge. However, with the arrival of the railroad, Dodge City soon became involved in the cattle trade. The idea of driving Texas Longhorn cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas originated in the late 1850s, but was cut short by the Civil War. In 1866, the first Texas cattle started arriving in Baxter Springs in"
"way, such as Baxter Springs, the first cow town in Kansas, developed to handle the seasonal workers and tens of thousands of head of cattle being driven. The first railroad to operate in Texas was the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway, opening in August 1853. The first railroad to enter Texas from the north, completed in 1872, was the . With increasing railroad access, the ranchers did not have to take their livestock up to the Midwest, and shipped beef out from Texas. This caused a decline in the economies of the cow towns. Since 1911, Texas has led"
"in San Antonio. Halff began acquiring land and cattle in the 1850s. After his relocation to San Antonio in 1864, he quickly acquired a million acres of scattered ranch land west of San Antonio extending all the way to Fort Stockton, Texas, the Pecos River country, and New Mexico. After the chaos of the Civil War, 5 million longhorn cattle, many of then unclaimed by owners, ranged over western Texas and, in 1877, Halff joined other ranchers in driving thousands of cattle north from the range lands of Texas to railroads in Dodge City, Kansas for transport to markets for"
"the eastern edge of the Llano Estacado and Fort Griffin, Texas. The work, although somewhat tedious at times, provided an opportunity for Hill to explore the “redbed country” of west-central Texas. This land of reddish brown sediments and rock has been carved by years of erosion leaving behind scenic mesas and buttes that preserve clues to the regions geologic past. In 1877, at the age of 19, Hill accepted an offer to work as a cowboy driving a large herd of cattle from Uvalde, Texas, to Dodge City, Kansas. The cattle drive took many months, during which time he learned"
"in Abilene, Kansas, but as railroads incrementally built southward, the end of the trail moved to other cities. The end of the trail moved to Newton, Kansas then soon afterward moved to Wichita, Kansas. From 1883 to 1887, the end of the trail was Caldwell, Kansas. Ellsworth, Kansas, is also considered a major influence of the trail. Historians consider the Chisholm Trail to have started either at Donna, Texas or San Antonio, Texas. In 1931, George W. Saunders, then president of the Old Trail Drivers Association and an authority on Texas livestock history wrote: ""The famed Chisholm Trail, about which"
"The Chisholm Trail, a cattle trail that led from Texas to the railcenters in Kansas and Missouri, crossed through the both Round Rock and Georgetown. Cotton was the dominant crop in the area between the 1880s and the 1920s, and Williamson County was the top producer of cotton in Texas. Primarily to transport bales of cotton, the county was served by two national railroads, the International-Great Northern Railroad, which eventually was merged into the Missouri Pacific, and the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad. The town of Taylor in eastern Williamson County became the primary center for cotton production, cotton ginning, and compressing the"
"the Texas Trail instead of the Chisholm Trail. In Texas, hundreds of feeder trails headed north to one of the main cattle trails. In the early 1840s, most cattle were driven up the Shawnee Trail. The Chisholm Trail was previously used by Indian hunting and raiding parties; the trail crossed into Indian Territory (present-day west-central Oklahoma) near Red River Station (in present-day Montague County, Texas) and entered Kansas near Caldwell. Through Oklahoma, the Chisholm Trail generally follows the route of US Highway 81 through present-day towns of El Reno, Duncan, Chickasha, and Enid. From 1867 to 1871, the trail ended"
"the Texas border. Several stations were set up along the road where travelers could rest and refresh their horses. The western branch particularly remained the main cattle trail from Texas until the opening of the Chisholm Trail (or Abilene Trail) following the Civil War. Texas herds were taken up the Shawnee Trail as early as the 1840s, and use of the route gradually increased, but, by 1853, trouble had begun to plague some of the drovers. In June of that year, as 3,000 cattle were trailed through western Missouri, local farmers blocked their passage and forced the drovers to turn"
"end of the Civil War, most cattle were being moved up the western branch of trail at Red River Station in Montague County, Texas. In 1866, cattle in Texas were worth only $4 per head, compared to over $40 per head in the North and East, because lack of market access during the American Civil War had led to an overstock of cattle in Texas. In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy built stockyards in Abilene, Kansas. He encouraged Texas cattlemen to drive their herds to his stockyards. The stockyards shipped 35,000 head that year and became the largest stockyards west of"
"to the railroad in Abeline, Kansas. The Chisholm Trail passed through the present city of Enid and entered Kansas near Caldwell.. Cattle drives following the Chisholm Trail and numerous side trails would continue to pass through the Outlet for the next 20 years. The Cherokees collected, but with difficulty, ten cents per head of cattle passing through the Outlet. The Texans began to halt in the outlet and graze and winter their cattle in the Cherokee Outlet. Ranchers in Kansas also began to use the Outlet for grazing their herds. The Cherokees attempted to collect fees for grazing rights, a"
"began in Texas and gradually moved northward. Between 1866 and 1895, cowboys herded 10 million cattle north to rail heads such as Dodge City, Kansas and Ogallala, Nebraska; from there, cattle were shipped eastward. Many foreign investors, especially British, financed the great ranches of the era. Overstocking of the range and the terrible winter of 1886 resulted in a disaster, with many cattle starved and frozen to death. Theodore Roosevelt, a rancher in the Dakotas, lost his entire investment; he returned east to reenter politics. From then on, ranchers generally raised feed to ensure they could keep their cattle alive"
"Goodnight–Loving Trail The Goodnight–Loving Trail was a trail used in the cattle drives of the late 1860s for the large-scale movement of Texas Longhorns. It is named after cattlemen Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving. The Goodnight Loving Trail began at Fort Belknap (Texas), along part of the former route of the Butterfield Overland Mail, traveling through central Texas across the Staked Plains to Horsehead Crossing, north along the Pecos River and across Pope's Crossing, into New Mexico to Fort Sumner. The trail then continued north into Colorado up to Denver and was extended on into Wyoming. In June 1866, Charles"