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The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to Cattle drive 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. (2026). 9780975482827, Mennonite Press. ISBN 9780975482827 (1991). 9780806136882, University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806136882
In 1866, cattle in Texas were worth $4 per head, compared to over $40 per head in the North and East. Lack of market access during the Civil War had produced an overstock of cattle in Texas. In 1867, Joseph McCoy built stockyards in Abilene, Kansas. He encouraged Texas cattlemen to drive their herds to his stockyards. O. W. Wheeler answered McCoy's call, and he along with partners used the Chisholm Trail to bring a herd of 2,400 head from Texas to Abilene. This herd was the first of an estimated 5,000,000 head of Texas cattle to reach Kansas via the Chisholm Trail. McCoy's stockyards shipped 35,000 head in 1867 and became the largest stockyards west of Kansas City, Kansas.
The construction of the Union Pacific Railway through Nebraska eventually offered a cattle drive destination that was an attractive alternative to the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Between 1876 and 1884 some drives followed the Great Western Cattle Trail instead of the Chisholm Trail.
Historians generally consider the starting point of the Chisholm Trail to be either Donna or San Antonio. From 1867 to 1871, the trail ended in Abilene, Kansas, but as railroads were incrementally built southward, the end of the trail moved to other cities. The end of the trail moved to Newton and soon afterward to Wichita. From 1883 to 1887, the end of the trail was at Caldwell.
The days of longest sunlight, near mid-June, were also an important consideration in the timing of drives. In addition to natural dangers, the cowboys and drovers encountered rustlers and occasional conflicts with Native Americans. The cattle drives disrupted hunting and the cultivation of crops in the Indian Territory. Tribal members demanded that the trail bosses pay a tariff of 10 cents per head to local tribes for the right to cross Indian lands (Oklahoma at that time was Indian Territory, governed from Fort Smith, Arkansas).
The only woman known to run her own cattle drive traveled from Texas to Wichita using the Chisholm Trail. Margaret Borland took her family, hired hands, and 2,500 Longhorns on the trail in 1873 in search of profit for her cattle, which were worth triple in Kansas over Texas prices. She died from what was called trail fever just after arriving in Wichita, after an otherwise successful journey.
The trail is the subject of at least two Pop music songs: "The Last Cowboy Song," written and recorded by Ed Bruce, also performed by The Highwaymen; and the song "The Old Chisholm Trail." Among those who have covered the song are Gene Autry, Girls of the Golden West, Woody Guthrie, Michael Martin Murphey, Tex Ritter, and Roy Rogers. Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter) also covered this song, although his version was titled "When I Was A Cowboy". Nova Scotia-born Wilf Carter recorded a version of the song, titled, "Come A Ty-ya Yippie Yi Yo".
The Chisholm Trail is roughly traced by U.S. Route 81 through Oklahoma, and that state has multiple museums and sites paying respect to the trail. The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, Oklahoma has educational and interactive exhibits, a large monument depicting a scene from a Chisholm Trail cattle drive, and a trail walkway. Chisholm Trail Heritage Center Chisholm Trail art, culture, and history - Duncan, Oklahoma Trail Ruts at Monument Hill just outside of Duncan has visible traces of cattle hoofs and wagons actually left on the trail. Kingfisher, Oklahoma, has a life-size statue of Jesse Chisholm in the middle of downtown, as well as the Chisholm Trail Museum and Governor Seay Mansion which gives a clear timeline of the trail. Yukon, Oklahoma, has the Chisholm Trail Watering Hole and historic marker, while Jesse Chisholm's gravesite is a bit further north outside Geary, Oklahoma. A mural in Enid, Oklahoma depicting the trail is located in the downtown area.
Lockhart, Texas, in Caldwell County, holds a four-day festival on the second weekend of June, to celebrate its place on the Chisholm Trail.
In 2014, the North Texas Tollway Authority constructed a 26-mile-long toll road named after the trail, the Chisholm Trail Parkway. It connects downtown Fort Worth to the nearby city of Cleburne in Johnson County. In 2017, the Texas Historical Commission released The Chisholm Trail: Exploring the Folklore and Legacy, an online tour and mobile app. The tour includes audio tracks and short videos that retell the history of communities and local heritage in towns and cities that line the route of the former Chisholm Trail.
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