Cattle Trails and Ranching
The trail drives and the big ranches: the Chisholm, Western, and Goodnight-Loving trails, Charles Goodnight, the King, XIT, JA, and Matador ranches, and the Fort Worth Stockyards, where the drives met the railroads.
- Stops
- 10
- Counties
- 10
- Miles apart
- 2,610
Miles are straight-line distance between stops, in list order. Driving distance is longer.
- 1
Old Chisholm Trail
Cuero · DeWitt County · erected 1966
From site near here, 1800 Longhorns were moved out April 1, 1866, on first trail drive from this area to northern markets.
- 2
Joseph G. McCoy, Promoter of Chisholm Trail
Denison · Grayson County · erected 1967
(1837-1915) Livestock broker from Illinois, whose pioneering in cattle markets helped Texas rebuild the economy which had been wrecked in 1861-1865 by Civil War.
- 3
Great Western Cattle Trail
Bandera · Bandera County · erected 2014
The Great Western Cattle Trail (also known as the Old Texas Trail and the Dodge City Trail) was the longest of all 19th century trails used to drive cattle from Texas to distant markets.
- 4
Goodnight-Loving Trail in Shackelford County
Albany · Shackelford County · erected 2017
Shackelford County was an unorganized and largely unsettled county of 914 square miles when Oliver Loving (1812-1867) and Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) engaged in cattle drives through the region between 1866 and 1867 along what would…
- 5
Charles Goodnight
Oran · Palo Pinto County · erected 1982
Here at Black Springs in the Keechi Valley in 1857, the celebrated pioneer open range cowman and trail driver Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) located his first ranch on the extreme Indian frontier of Texas.
- 6
The Old JA Ranch
Canyon · Randall County · erected 1968
In 1876, veteran Texas cattleman, Charles Goodnight entered Palo Duro Canyon by way of an old Comanche Indian trail near here, to establish the first ranch in this area.
- 7
Heartland of Old XIT Ranch
Dalhart · Dallam County · erected 1968
Great Texas ranch of international fame.
- 8
The King Ranch
Kingsville · Kleberg County · erected 1977
Richard King (1824-1885), a Rio Grande steamboat captain, bought two Spanish land grants on Santa Gertrudis Creek and founded the legendary King Ranch in 1853.
- 9
Matador Ranch
Matador · Motley County · erected 1986
The Matador Cattle Company began as an open range ranch in 1879 when Henry H. Campbell, A. M. Britton, and three others bought range rights in this area.
- 10
Fort Worth Stockyards Hog and Sheep Markets
Fort Worth · Tarrant County · erected 1994
Early attempts by the Fort Worth Union Stock Yards Corporation, established in 1887, to persuade Texans to produce more hogs proved unsuccessful.
Map of the Stops
Loading map…
Take the Cattle Trails and Ranching on the road. The app routes the stops and checks you in at each one.
Get the AppMore Trails
- Texas Revolution Trail 14 stops
- Heroes of the Texas Revolution 12 stops
- Historic San Antonio 10 stops
- Civil War in Texas 7 stops
- Spanish Colonial Texas 10 stops