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Ranching History
The first great cattle ranch of
Texas traces its origin to Mission Nuestra Señora del Espiritu Santo
de Zuniga, originally established in present-day Victoria County
in 1722 and moved to its present location in Goliad, Texas in 1749.
Together with the nearby
Presidio La Bahia,
these settlements were
granted jurisdiction over enormous holdings of land and reportedly
controlled upwards to 40,000 head of branded and unbranded cattle.
These herds that roamed freely along the Gulf Coast, San Antonio
River and Guadalupe River, were descended primarily from Spanish
Andalusian cattle brought to the New World by missionaries, explorers
and ranchers as early as the 16th century. After hundreds of years,
these cattle developed into what we know today as the Texas Longhorn.
Fast forward to 1865 and the conclusion of the Civil War and — more
importantly — the beginning of Reconstruction. Hard times had fallen
upon Texas ranchers who held plenty of land, but little income. Crockett
Cardwell was one of those hard-bitten, yet resilient men who saw the
potential profits in the abundance of Longhorns coupled with the
growing demand for beef in Northern markets. In 1866, he called upon
Thorton Chisholm to lead an ambitious and unprecedented cattle drive
all the way to St. Joseph, Missouri.
Thus, DeWitt, Gonzales, Victoria, Goliad, Lavaca, Karnes Refugio, Bee, Calhoun,
and other counties were at the heart of early ranching tradition.
Numerous organization points and tributary routes, where herds were
assembled and driven north to various railheads were located in the
area. Millions of Longhorns were driven up the now legendary
Chisholm Trail and to points further north and west. Thousands of Texas
cowboys made the job an enviable distinction, one that separated him
from an otherwise average ranch hand.
The Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum will chronicle those tumultuous
post-Civil War years and interpret the story of two icons that made
the Chisholm Trail famous — the Texas Longhorn and the Texas cowboy.
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