DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Chisholm Trail in Denton County — and friend, this one's worth pulling over for. After the Civil War, the men who came home found a hard welcome. Jobs were scarce.
Ranch lands had gone neglected and decayed. The future was about as certain as a summer storm on the open plains — which is to say, not certain at all. But Texas had something.
Something with four legs and a bad attitude. Cattle. Millions of them.
The Chisholm Trail became the road to salvation for a lot of folks. From 1867 to 1884, those millions of cattle made the long trek north to Kansas, where they'd be loaded onto trains and shipped to eastern markets. And a good number of those longhorns — hooves churning up the dust — came straight through Denton County.
The trail entered from the south at a place called Elizabethtown and pushed on northward to just above Bolivar. The whole length of the county, end to end. Now think about what it takes to move that many cattle.
Between thirty thousand and forty thousand cowboys worked that trail over the years. Thirty to forty thousand. That's not a crew — that's a migration.
And every one of those men needed boots and beans and rope and a place to rest, and the ranchers who made money needed goods and services in return, and that ripple — that financial ripple — spread out across Denton County and across the state of Texas like rings on still water after a stone's been thrown. The railroad eventually spread throughout the country, and when it did, the trail diminished. That's the nature of progress — it closes one door while it opens another.
But the Chisholm Trail didn't just fade away without leaving something behind. Denton County is home to a number of heritage ranch properties that have stayed in the same family for over a century. Over a century.
The trail shaped who owned the land, and that ownership held. Thirty thousand cowboys. Millions of cattle.
One trail running the full length of a county that needed it as much as the cattle needed the grass beneath their feet. The marker puts it plainly, and I think it gets it right — the allure, the mystique, and the impact of the Chisholm Trail and the cowboys who worked it will remain for generations. Some things just ride on.
What the marker says
The Chisholm Trail was a significant route for cattle drives in the late 1800s that traveled the entire length of Denton County and played a major role in the agricultural development of the county. Following the Civil War, veterans returned home to an uncertain future. Jobs were scarce and ranch lands were neglected and decayed. The burgeoning cattle industry in Texas and the use of the Chisholm Trail to drive cattle to Kansas to be shipped to eastern markets helped bring financial prosperity to the state and Denton County. From 1867 to 1884, millions of cattle made the long trek to Kansas, many passing through Denton County on their way. Money made by numerous ranchers and businessmen created a ripple effect to the state of Texas economy, and the demand for goods and services returned. Over the years, 30,000 to 40,000 cowboys worked the trail as an industry was created in Texas that still exists today. In Denton County, the trail extended from Elizabethtown in the south to just north of bolivar. The county is home to a number of heritage ranch properties that have remained in the same family for over a century, a testament to the impact of the Chisholm Trail. Although the trail diminished as the railroad spread throughout the country, the Chisholm Trail was a significant part of America's and Texas" economic history and helped rebuild many distressed areas following the Civil War. The allure, mystique and impact of the Chisholm Trail and the cowboys who worked the trail will remain for generations. (2017)