The Western Trail and the Great Northwestern Trail
The Western Trail began as a cattle trail and later became the Great Northern Cattle Trail. These trails were built to transport cattle and horses from the western states to markets in the northern and eastern states. Today, the trails are used for many different purposes. One of them is the transportation of goods from the west to the east. However, the history of the Great Northwestern Trail is a bit different. Here’s what you need to know. Historically, the Western Trail was a cattle route, but it was also used for other things.
The Western Trail is not an easy journey. Before the Civil War, most cattle droves were made of rough terrain. The Texas fever epidemic, advances in farming in the frontier, and railroad sales to incoming farmers destroyed the cattle business along the Western Trail. But with the advent of the railroad, cattle drives were a part of American history for decades. The Great Northern Cattle Drive became a popular tourist attraction in the Midwest, as ranchers began to drive their loose herds northward. These herds were shipped to the railheads in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, and from there they traveled to Chicago and other cities in the east. They paid ten times more than a Texas steer.
The Western Trail spanned the Western United States from South Texas to Nebraska. Other names for the trail included Fort Griffin and Dodge City. The cattle droves originated from Kerrville, where feeder routes were consolidated and pushed north. The Great Western Trail eventually crossed the Colorado, Llano, and Brazos rivers, and was joined by the Buffalo Gap feeder trail. Once across the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, the trail crossed Butterfield-Military Road.
Cowboys were the backbone of the cattle industry. Before the war, people were consuming more pork than beef because it was easier to preserve. The cowboys began driving loose herds of cattle through Texas and northern Mexico. The cattle traveled to the railheads of Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, and eventually to Chicago and other cities in the east. By the twentieth century, the cowboy trade was almost nonexistent. The Western Trail is a historical landmark, and a place to visit if you are in the area.
The Western Trail was a cattle trade route in Texas before the war. After the war, people began to substitute beef with pork because it was cheaper to preserve and was cheaper to transport. In fact, the Western Trail changed the diet of Americans for many years to include pork. The cattle drives changed the landscape of the country. In the mid-1880s, ranchers in northern Mexico and Texas started driving loose herds north. In 1888, the first trail marker was installed in Montana.
In 1885, the Texas Trail saw a dramatic decline in traffic. The Texas Fever spread from cattle that were not properly treated and the cattle were subsequently quarantined, resulting in their death. This led to the birth of the Western Trail. The cattle trade was a vital source of income for the nation. In the years after the war, people continued to drive their cattle north to the northern pastures. They traded livestock for meat and other items.