| Marker Number |
1360 |
| Atlas Number |
5337001360 |
| Marker Title |
Early Trails in Montague County |
| Index Entry |
Early Trails in Montague County |
| Address |
US 82, 1 mi west of Ringgold |
| City |
Ringgold |
| County |
Montague |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
599347 |
| UTM Northing |
3742321 |
| Subject Codes |
roads; cattle, cattle industry topics |
| Marker Year |
1969 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
From Ringgold take US 82 1 mile west. |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
27" x 42" |
| Marker Text |
Lying on a direct line of travel from the United States to Mexico, California, and points west, the area now Montague County was once a network of trails. One of the first area roads forged by white men was the Chihuahua Traders Trail of 1840. Blazed by merchants hoping to open a trade route from Mexico to St. Louis, Mo., this road crossed present Montague County and left tracks for later travelers. In 1841 came the Texan-Santa Fe Expedition; though it failed to open regular commerce between the Republic of Texas and Northern Mexico, this delegation also left a road and enforced the claims of Texas to Western territories. In 1849 U.S. Army Capt. Randolph B. Marcy charted a "California Trail", using parts of older routes. This soon grew into a thoroughfare for forty-niners and sturdy pioneers who came later. In 1858 the famous Butterfield Overland Mail Line came across the county; and in the 1870's, as Texas was building her image as a cattle empire, Montague County was crossed by two feeder branches of the Chisholm Trail. In 1882, the county's first railroad followed much of the Texan-Santa Fe Trail. Today Highway 82 partly traces Marcy's route and other roads parallel many of these early trails. (1969) |
