Chisholm Trail

Business aspects

By 1853, Texas cattle were being driven into Missouri, but local farmers blocked herds because Texas Longhorns carried ticks causing disease in other cattle. Violence, vigilante groups, and rustling added problems, and by 1859 driving cattle was outlawed in many Missouri jurisdictions. After the Civil War, most cattle moved up the western branch, gathering at Red River Station in Montague County, Texas. In 1866, Texas cattle were worth $4 per head versus over $40 in the North and East, as lack of market access during the war had produced an overstock.

In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy built stockyards in Abilene, Kansas, and encouraged Texas cattlemen to drive herds there. O. W. Wheeler and partners answered, bringing 2,400 head from Texas to Abilene via the Chisholm Trail, the first of an estimated 5,000,000 head to reach Kansas. McCoy's stockyards shipped 35,000 head in 1867 and became the largest west of Kansas City, Kansas. The Union Pacific Railway through Nebraska later offered an alternative destination, and between 1876 and 1884 some drives used the Great Western Cattle Trail instead.

Route

In Texas, many smaller feeder routes merged into the main northbound cattle paths. Before the 1840s, when the Shawnee Trail was the primary route, the Chisholm Trail was already used by Native American hunting and war parties. It crossed into Indian Territory at Red River Station and entered Kansas near Caldwell. Today, U.S. Highway 81 roughly follows the trail through Oklahoma towns like El Reno, Duncan, Chickasha, and Enid.

Historians usually place the trail's start at either Donna or San Antonio. Between 1867 and 1871, it ended at Abilene, Kansas, but as railroads extended south, the endpoint shifted. In 1872, Ellsworth became a destination via the Ellsworth or Cox's Trail, offering a shorter, less crowded route. Later, the trail's end moved to Newton, then Wichita, and finally to Caldwell from 1883 to 1887.

Challenges

Cattlemen faced many difficulties on trips lasting up to two months. They had to cross major rivers such as the Arkansas and the Red, plus innumerable smaller creeks, and handle canyons, badlands, desolate plains, and low mountain ranges. Major drives typically started in spring after rains stimulated grass growth, but spring rains and higher water levels made river crossings more dangerous, with few or no bridges suitable for large herds. The half-wild Texas Longhorn cattle were contrary and prone to stampede with little provocation.

The days of longest sunlight near mid-June were also considered in timing. Besides natural dangers, cowboys encountered rustlers and occasional conflicts with Native Americans.

The drives disrupted hunting and crop cultivation in Indian Territory, and tribal members demanded a toll of 10 cents per head for crossing Indian lands. Margaret Borland, the only woman known to run her own cattle drive, traveled from Texas to Wichita using the trail in 1873 with her family, hired hands, and 2,500 Longhorns. She died from trail fever just after arriving in Wichita, after an otherwise successful journey.

Legacy

The Chisholm Trail's legacy is marked by numerous schools, including Chisholm Trail High School in Fort Worth, Texas; Chisholm Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kansas; Chisholm Trail Middle School in Round Rock, Texas; Chisholm Trail Middle School in Rhome, Texas; Chisholm Trail Elementary School in Park City, Kansas; Chisholm Middle School in Newton, Kansas; Chisholm High School in Enid, Oklahoma; Chisholm Elementary School in Edmond, Oklahoma; Chisholm Trail Elementary School in Sanger, Texas; and Chisholm Trail Elementary School in Belton, Texas.

U.S. Route 81 through Oklahoma roughly follows the trail's path, and the state features several museums and sites honoring it. The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, Oklahoma offers interactive exhibits, a large monument showing a cattle drive, and a walking trail. Near Duncan, Trail Ruts at Monument Hill preserve visible hoof and wagon marks. In Kingfisher, Oklahoma, a life-size statue of Jesse Chisholm stands downtown, alongside the Chisholm Trail Museum and Governor Seay Mansion, which presents a clear timeline of the trail.

Yukon, Oklahoma has the Chisholm Trail Watering Hole and a historic marker, while Jesse Chisholm's grave lies north of Geary, Oklahoma. A mural in downtown Enid depicts the trail. Lockhart, Texas in Caldwell County hosts a four-day festival on the second weekend of June celebrating its connection to the trail. In 2014, the North Texas Tollway Authority built the 26-mile Chisholm Trail Parkway, a toll road linking downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne in Johnson County.

In 2017, the Texas Historical Commission launched an online tour and mobile app called The Chisholm Trail: Exploring the Folklore and Legacy, featuring audio and video that recount the history of towns along the route.

Did You Know?

• The trail is named for Jesse Chisholm, a multiracial trader from Tennessee of Cherokee and Scottish descent.
• At least 27 movies have portrayed fictional accounts of the first drive along the Chisholm Trail, including The Texans (1938) and Red River (1948).