CATTLE KINGDOM TEXAS HISTORY

Section one:

  • The Spanish introduced Ranches to Texas in the 1500's.
  • As the ranches grew large the Spanish govt. ordered people to BRAND their cattle.
  • By the 1800's there was so much cattle in Texas the demand for beef was very low. Texans made a lot of money selling cattle to places like Chicago & Louisiana where it was in high demand.
  • The Longhorn appeared (bred between English & Spanish cows) in the 1800's in Texas.

Section 2:

  • In 1800's Texas cattle sold for $3 a head, while in New York they would sell for around $80 a head. Cattle driving proved to be very profitable for Texans who did it.

The Sedalia Trail!

  • During a cattle drive on the Sedalia Trail 260,000 head of cattle cause serious damage in the populated states of Kansas & Missouri. The cattle trampled (crushed) crops & infected other cattle with Texas Fever, killing many.
  • The damage to Kansas & Missouri inspired Texan Joseph McCoy to open a cattle market in Abilene, TX.
  • The cattle market in Abilene caused a new cattle drive trail to be formed.

The Chisholm Trail!

  • The Chisholm Trail was the most used cattle trail until about the 1870's. The Chisholm Trail became too populated and a new trail was formed right after.

The Western Trail!

  • The Western Trail passed right by Vernon, TX and was considered very dangerous because of all the Native American living around the area.
  • The major stopping point on the Western Trail was in Seymour,TX.
  • The Western Trail crossed the Red River and went as far as Canada. The trail was successful but ended after most open ranges were closed.

Goodnight-Loving Trail

  • This trail was created to supply military forts with cattle in New Mexico and the trail went as far as Colorado.
  • The Goodnight-Loving Trail disappeared when railroads came to Texas.

Section 3:

  • The King Ranch in south Texas was one of the most important cattle operations in the state
  • One of the first ranches established in the Panhandle was the JA Ranch.
  • Ranches in Texas were located far from towns. Ranchers had to rely on themselves to solve the many challenges they faced.
  • Ranches could never have succeeded without cowboys. Cowboys completed daily tasks on the ranches essential to success.

Section 4:

  • Joseph J. Glidden developed barbed wire in 1873. By the end of the 1880s, there were barbed wire fences in nearly every Texas county.
  • Range wars broke out during an 1883 drought, when cattle began to die of thirst. Ranchers cut farmers’ fences to get access to water.
  • Toward the end of the 1880s, the open range where all the famous trails were formed began to disappear thanks to fences being put up all over Texas.

Credits:

Created with images by Photography by Daniel Rodriguez - "Curious Cows" • crackdog - "Cattle drive, c1913" • Raw2daBon3 - "texas longhorn cattle san diego zoo safari" • PublicDomainPictures - "valley hills zululand" • Nicola since 1972 - "Red Rocks - IMG_1283" • minicooper93402 - "cattle"

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