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"