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In use from approximately 1850 to 1873, the Shawnee Cattle Trail was the first north-south cattle trail and reached the farthest east of the four great cattle-driving Trails from Texas to the northern markets. These included the Shawnee, Chisholm, Great Western and Goodnight-Loving trails. The Shawnee Trail passed through western Ellis County crossing the Brazos River at Waco, the Trinity River at Dallas and the Red River at Preston en route to Missouri. The trail was well-suited for cattle drives as Ellis County is situated within the Blackland Prairie. The prairie transitioned from gently rolling terrain to level ground in the central corridor, which provided an easy pathway for cattle transport. In the 19th century, the prairie provided an abundance of forage and water, which ensured safe passage for their journey north. Waxahachie, the Ellis County seat, was created in 1850 and was a supply stop on the trail. However, by 1855, an epidemic of Texas fever, also called tick fever, began to pass from unaffected Texas cattle to northern cattle. The fever ravaged cattle and enraged local stockmen, but the drives continued. Between 1861 and 1865, the cattle drives were all but discontinued due to the outbreak of the Civil War and laws that regulated infected Texas cattle. Famed cattle baron Joseph Geiting McCoy first used the Chisholm Trail in 1867, which followed the Shawnee Trail through Waco but then travelled west through Fort Worth. Although the Chisholm trail eventually became the major route for Texas cattle, drives up the Shawnee trail continued through 1873. |
