Abilene Cattle Trail
GLO Record of the Week for July 26, 2020
The 1800s Cattle Trails
The local supply of beef on the East Coast was depleted after the United States Civil War ended in 1865. In the West, gold miners and new settlers also needed beef for sustenance. The cattle trails traveled from south Texas to Kansas to meet the Transcontinental Railway, which allowed for east-west travel across the United States.
The map here shows the different cattle trails present in the 19th century. The purple squares in the north depict railhead locations on the Transcontinental Railway.
Texas had a large supply of free-range cattle that were left to roam and multiply during the years of the war. In order to get from Texas to the railway, cowboys rode alongside the cattle to ensure safe passage and delivery.
The Chisholm Cattle Trail started in Texas and headed north through Oklahoma towards Kansas. Just beyond the Oklahoma-Kansas border, the cattle trail split into various directions.
A familiar destination of the nearby Great Western Cattle Trail is Dodge City, Kansas, which was made famous by the TV Show "Gunsmoke" (aired in the mid-1900s). Another end point of the trail was Abilene, Kansas.
GLO and History
The General Land Office survey shown here is located on the Texas-Oklahoma border near the Red River. By this point in the journey, the cattle and cowboys have made it through Texas and are continuing north, to pass through Oklahoma towards the Transcontinental Railway.
An image of longhorn cattle in a domesticated setting.
Interestingly, Texas has it's own GLO! Check out the Texas GLO interactive map here .
Survey Plat Markings
A closer look at sections 1, 2, 11, and 12 of this township reveals markings of the Abilene Cattle Trail.
Along the township boundary, there are uppercase and lowercase letters. These letters are markers that are typically referenced in the descriptive notes written on the back of the survey plat. Descriptive notes describe the land on the boundary of the township.
The practice of writing descriptive notes ended in 1916.
Cattle Trail Cowboys
The men who rode the various cattle trails were often younger than 20 years old and the job was considered a right of passage rather than a career.
The cowboys endured many surprises and hardships on their journey north. The cattle drives typically went through Native American territory in western Oklahoma and disrupted hunting and crop cultivation which led to disputes. In addition, the hundreds of thousands of Texas Longhorns were untrained, dangerous, and oftentimes would stampede during rainstorms.
The entire journey lasted anywhere from two to three months. Cowboys crossed rivers, mountain ranges, and valleys on horseback. Between times of turmoil, there were quiet and calm moments in the vast nature of the great south.
A picture of longhorn cattle laying in open grass.
The movie "City Slickers," is a 1991 western comedy about two men from the city who plan a vacation trip travelling along a cattle trail from Mexico to Colorado. Check out the movie trailer here ! Thank you for tuning in to our Record of the Week story map! To explore more records from the GLO Record of the Week please visit our archive here .
