The Chisolm Trail

The image of the longhorns and cowboys was captured at the Stockyards in Fort Worth and the backgrounds from The Daily Texture were added.... more

by David and Carol Kelly

Title

The Chisolm Trail

Artist

David and Carol Kelly

Medium

Photograph

Description

The image of the longhorns and cowboys was captured at the Stockyards in Fort Worth and the backgrounds from "The Daily Texture" were added.

Fort Worth was the last major stop for rest and supplies for the drovers heading cattle up the Chisolm Trail. Beyond Fort Worth they would have to deal with crossing the Red River into Indian Territory. Between 1866 and 1890 more than four million head of cattle were trailed through Fort Worth, which was soon known as "Cowtown". Cowtown soon had its own disreputable entertainment district several blocks south of the Courthouse area known all over the West as "Hell's Half Acre".

In the late 19th century these longhorns were driven to market in Kansas over the Chisholm Trail. The Chisholm Trail was the major route out of Texas for livestock. Although it was used only from 1867 to 1884, the longhorn cattle driven north along it provided a steady source of income that helped the impoverished state recover from the Civil War. Youthful trail hands gave a Texas flavor to the entire range cattle industry of the Great Plains and made the cowboy an enduring folk hero.

Uploaded

July 3rd, 2015