Texas Trail

Last updated

The Texas Trail, better known as the Texas Road [ clarify ][ citation needed ] but also known as the Shawnee Trail,[ citation needed ]Sedalia Trail[ citation needed ] or the Kansas Trail,[ citation needed ] was a historic cattle trail which was used to drive cattle from Texas to the railhead for the Union Pacific Railway in Kansas, then by rail to Ogallala, Nebraska and other locations on the 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, [1] and Dodge City on the Atchison & Topeka Railway.

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. [2]

According to one source the last cattle drive over the trail was in 1884, [3] but others say there were drives later. [1]

The XIT Ranch used the Texas Trail, connecting Tascosa to Dodge City until 1885. That was when the quarantine line was extended to southwestern Kansas. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge City, Kansas</span> City in Ford County, Kansas

Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is known in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central City, Nebraska</span> City in Nebraska, United States

Central City is a city and the county seat of Merrick County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Grand Island, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,934 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowboy</span> Traditional ranch worker in North America

A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and stockmen and jackaroos in Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XIT Ranch</span> Former cattle ranch in Texas, US

The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) of land, it ran for 200 miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to 30 miles. The massive ranch stretched through ten counties in Texas and at its peak regularly handled 150,000 head of cattle. "XIT" Stands for "Ten In Texas" using the roman Numeral "X".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Trail</span> 19th-century route through central North America between Franklin, MO, and Santa Fe, NM

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City. The trail was later incorporated into parts of the National Old Trails Road and U.S. Route 66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chisholm Trail</span> Historic trail in the central United States used for cattle drives

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 trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee merchant. They collected and drove numerous cattle along the trail to Kansas, where they could be shipped east to achieve higher prices. The southern terminus was Red River Station, a trading post near the Red River along the northern border of Texas. The northern terminus was a trading post near Kansas City, Kansas. Chisholm owned both of these posts. In the years of the cattle drives, cowboys drove large herds from ranches across Texas to the Red River Station and then north to Kansas City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Nebraska</span>

This is a list of more than 1,100 properties and districts in Nebraska that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Of these, 20 are National Historic Landmarks. There are listings in 90 of the state's 93 counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cattle drives in the United States</span> Movement of cattle by herding over land

Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century American West, particularly between 1850s and 1910s. In this period, 27 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in Kansas, for shipment to stockyards in St. Louis and points east, and direct to Chicago. The long distances covered, the need for periodic rests by riders and animals, and the establishment of railheads led to the development of "cow towns" across the frontier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Western Cattle Trail</span>

The Great Western Cattle Trail is the name used today for a cattle trail used during the late 19th century for moving beef stock and horses to markets in eastern and northern states. It is also known as the Western Trail, Fort Griffin Trail, Dodge City Trail, Northern Trail and Texas Trail. It ran west of and roughly parallel to the better known Chisholm Trail into Kansas, reaching an additional major railhead there for shipping beef to Chicago, or longhorns and horses continuing on further north by trail to stock open-range ranches in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, and two provinces in Canada. A full-length drive from the trailhead south of Bandera, Texas took almost one hundred days to reach its destination in Kansas.

The Texas Trail was a cattle drive trail from Texas to Nebraska that was used during the 1870s and 1880s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Fillmore County, Nebraska</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Fillmore County, Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Clay County, Nebraska</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Clay County, Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Beaver</span>

Black Beaver or Se-ket-tu-may-qua was a trapper and interpreter who worked for the American Fur Company. He served as a scout and guide as he was fluent in English, as well as several European and Native American languages. He is credited with establishing the California and Chisholm trails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Chase County, Nebraska</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Chase County, Nebraska. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Chase County, Nebraska, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.

The Greenwood Stage Station was a historic stagecoach stop located in what is now rural Morrill County, Nebraska. It was the second stage station on the Sidney-Black Hills Trail, when coming north from the Union Pacific railroad at Fort Sidney, Nebraska, on the way to gold mining fields in South Dakota. It played a significant role along the trail, serving travellers as a hotel, restaurant, and stable, as well as furnishing fresh horses for stagecoaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Trail Stone Corral</span> United States historic place

The Texas Trail Stone Corral, near Imperial, Nebraska, was built in 1874 and is a rare surviving artifact of cattle drives along the Texas Trail. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Nebraska historic resource, NeHBS no. CH00-041.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldeck, Kansas</span> Ghost town in Marion County, Kansas

Waldeck is a ghost town in Marion County, Kansas, United States. It is currently a ghost town that was located approximately 3.5 miles north of Lehigh next to a railroad. No buildings remain of this former community.

A cattle town was a frontier settlement in the Midwestern United States that catered to the cattle industry. The economies of these communities were heavily dependent on the seasonal cattle drives from Texas, which brought the cowboys and the cattle that these towns relied upon. Cattle towns were found at the junctions of railroads and livestock trails. These towns were the destination of the cattle drives, the place where the cattle would be bought and shipped off to urban meatpackers, midwestern cattle feeders, or to ranchers on the central or northern plains. Cattle towns were made famous by popular accounts of rowdy cowboys and outlaws who were kept under control by local lawmen, but those depictions were mostly exaggeration and myth.

John F. Reynolds, usually known as J.F. Reynolds, was an architect of Sioux City, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska. He designed schools and courthouses. Several of his works have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) for their architecture.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Texas Trail".
  2. Pogany, Erin; Sarah Davis McBride (May 2002). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Texas Trail Stone Corral / NeHBS # CH00-041" (PDF). Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-08.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "The Texas Trail". Nebraska State Historical Association. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Haley, J. Evetts (1929). The XIT Ranch of Texas: And the Early Days of the Llano Estacado. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 126. ISBN   0806114282.