Unlikely Connections: Texas Cattle, California Gold, and Slavery in Antebellum Texas

Years before the era of the great cattle drives, Texas was already rich with livestock and cattle trails. Dr. Debbie Liles, a lecturer at the University of North Texas, provides insights on antebellum Texas and the post-Civil War Cattle Kingdom.

Stock raisers and drovers drove cattle to multiple markets in and out of Texas, where they were traded for enormous profits. As commercial interactions increased, the wealth attached to the business soared, as well as the riches of those men and women who participated in the industry.

Several events made this possible, including the discovery of gold in California. With opportunities in California, migration from the American South brought newcomers to Texas and rendered a series of unlikely connections to both the Old South and the New West.

Before the Chisholm, the Eastern, the Western, and the Goodnight-Loving trails, there were the Opelousas, the Shawnee, the Southern, and the Dawson. In Allen, the Shawnee trail was utilized by local ranchers. Although the understanding of these early trails has been neglected due to the focus on the post-Civil War drives, they were the foundation for famous cattlemen, including Daniel Waggoner, Oliver Loving, C. C. Slaughter, George R. Reynolds, John Simpson Chisum, and John B. Dawson.

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