Volume 9 , Issue 40

Oklahoma's Chisholm Trail Centennial Corridor

The corridor, an Oklahoma centennial project, marks the old Chisholm trail cattle trail as it crosses oklahoma as indicated on the map to the left. US Highway 81 generally follows the trail and is marked with signs indicating historic trail sites and crossings. We invite you to explore the corridor as you travel through our historic state.

The old Chisholm Trail was established in 1867 as a route from the cattle ranches of south texas, where millions of longhorn cattle roamed after the civil war, across indian territory (Oklahoma) to the railroads in Kansas for shipment to eastern markets. In use from 1867 to approximately 1885, over four million cattle were driven over this route in the greatest controlled animal migration in the world's history.

Crossing into Kansas just East of this location, beyond the railroad tracks, the trail continued northward a few miles to Caldwell, a famous notorious cowtown and cattle trail railhead during the latter days of the trail drive era. Although Abilene, Kansas was the original destination for the drovers and cattle, the railroad reached caldwell by 1880. It remained the final Chisholm Trail terminus until the Chisholm Trail shut down in about 1885.
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