Cattle Drives, the Open Range, and the Cowboy Economy (1866–1890)

1. First Chisholm Trail drive heads north

   Jan 1, 1866Labels: Chisholm Trail, Jesse Chisholm

   • TPWD
   • US Cattle Drives

2. Goodnight and Loving launch first drive

   Jun 1, 1866Labels: Goodnight Loving, Charles Goodnight

   • Goodnight Loving
   • Charles Goodnight

3. Abilene becomes a railhead cattle market

   Jan 1, 1867Labels: Joseph G, Abilene stockyards

   • KSHS McCoy
   • Abilene Trail

4. First Abilene shipments leave McCoy stockyards

   Sep 5, 1867Labels: McCoy stockyards, Abilene

   • Abilene Trail
   • Visit Abilene

5. Goodnight begins Cheyenne slaughter drives

   Feb 1, 1868Labels: Cheyenne drives, Charles Goodnight

   • Goodnight Loving
   • Charles Goodnight

6. Western railheads overtake Abilene’s primacy

   Jan 1, 1871Labels: Western railheads, Newton Wichita

   • KSHS McCoy
   • Abilene Trail

7. Ellsworth becomes major Kansas Pacific shipping point

   Jan 1, 1872Labels: Ellsworth Kansas, Kansas Pacific

   • KSHS Ellsworth

8. Dodge City founded as new rail-linked cowtown

   Sep 1, 1872Labels: Dodge City, Atchison Topeka

   • Visit Dodge
   • EBSCO

9. Barbed wire patent issued to Joseph Glidden

   Nov 24, 1874Labels: Barbed wire, Joseph Glidden

   • Natl Archives
   • Smithsonian

10. Fence-cutting crisis prompts Texas special session

    Jan 8, 1884Labels: Texas legislature, Fence-cutting crisis

    • TSHA

11. Great Die-Up devastates open-range herds

    Nov 22, 1886Labels: Great Die-Up, Winter 1886-87

    • Big Die Up
    • HISTORY

12. Millions of cattle moved in trail-drive era

    Jan 1, 1890Labels: Trail-drive era, Texas cattle

    • TPWD