The Historical Fact

Cattle Ranching

Raising cattle on the Great Plains began in earnest following the Civil War. Many Southerners left their homes and headed west to Texas. There were areas of Texas where wild cattle roamed free and were easy to take. Several sold them for profit, others started ranching and raising their own stock, while many drove the cattle north into Missouri and later Kansas. From there the cattle were shipped by rail back East to cities hungry for beef.

Ranching was vastly different from raising cattle on small farms where crops were of primary interest. Conditions were favorable for producing cattle in Texas. Then they were moved north to the lush grasslands of the Great Plains to be fattened for eventual sale. From 1866 to about 1890 nearly five million cattle were produced, sold, and shipped back East for a good profit. The practices used in raising cattle in the latter 1800’s were not much different than what ranchers do today.

Sources abound about this topic in American History. The following would be helpful to find more information.

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/jaime/cwp4/ckg/Cattle.html
http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/livestock/14196
http://www.americancattlemen.com/articles/cattle-ranching
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_ranching