The Chisholm Trail (/ˈtʃɪzəm/ CHIZ-əm) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail consisted of a pathway established by Black Beaver in 1861 and a wagon road established by Jesse Chisholm around 1864. "The Chisholm Wagon Road went from Chisholm's trading post on the south Canadian River (north of Fort Arbuckle) to the Cimarron River crossing, to the Arkansas River at the future site of Wichita where Chisholm had another trading post and on north to Abilene," according to the Kraisingers. By 1869, the entire trail from Texas to Kansas became known as the Chisholm Trail.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Chisholm Trail
- Chisholm Trail in the context of Wichita, Kansas
- Chisholm Trail in the context of Cattle drives in the United States
Chisholm Trail in the context of Wichita, Kansas
Wichita (/ˈwɪtʃɪtɔː/ WITCH-ih-taw) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532, and the Wichita metropolitan area had a population of 647,610. It is located in south-central Kansas along the Arkansas River.
Wichita began as a trading post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s and was incorporated as a city in 1870. It became a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to Kansas railroads, earning it the nickname "Cowtown". In 1875, Wyatt Earp served as a police officer in Wichita for about one year before going to Dodge City.
View the full Wikipedia page for Wichita, KansasChisholm Trail in the context of Cattle drives in the United States
Cattle drives were a major economic activity in the 19th and early 20th century American West, particularly between 1850s and 1910s. In this period, 27 million cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in Kansas, for shipment to stockyards in St. Louis and points east, and direct to Chicago. The long distances covered, the need for periodic rests by riders and animals, and the establishment of railheads led to the development of "cow towns" across the frontier.
According to the Kraisingers, "...four Texas-based cattle trails - the Shawnee Trail System, the Goodnight Trail System, the Eastern/Chisholm Trail System, and The Western Trail System - were used to drive cattle north during the forty-year period between 1846 and 1886."
View the full Wikipedia page for Cattle drives in the United States