who set up the first stockyard for texas cattle in abilene kansas
Joseph G. McCoy
title: Abilene Trail text: Abilene Trail The Abilene Trail was a cattle trail leading from Texas to Abilene, Kansas. Its exact route is disputed owing to its many offshoots, but it crossed the Red River just east of Henrietta, Texas, and continued north across the Indian Territory to Caldwell, Kansas and on past Wichita and Newton to Abilene. The first herds were probably driven over it in 1866, though it was not named until Abilene was established in 1867. In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy of Illinois settled in Abilene to engage in the cattle trade. He laid out a cattle trail to connect with title: Chisholm Trail text: end of the Civil War, most cattle were being moved up the western branch of trail at Red River Station in Montague County, Texas. In 1866, cattle in Texas were worth only $4 per head, compared to over $40 per head in the North and East, because lack of market access during the American Civil War had led to an overstock of cattle in Texas. In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy built stockyards in Abilene, Kansas. He encouraged Texas cattlemen to drive their herds to his stockyards. The stockyards shipped 35,000 head that year and became the largest stockyards west of title: Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga text: educating and serving the tribes Aranama, Piguique, Manos de Perro, Tamique, Tawakoni, and Tonkawa in the area, but by the early 1830s was facing opposition from raiding Apaches and Comanches. The mission became the first large cattle ranch in Texas, with near 40,000 free-roaming cattle at the height of production in about 1778. The large herds of Texas longhorns and mustangs were cared for by the vaquero Indians from the mission. The mission inhabitants also grew large crops of grain, fruit, and vegetables to support themselves and for trade with others. Cattle and livestock were also driven to and traded title: Santa Gertrudis cattle text: Santa Gertrudis cattle Santa Gertrudis cattle are a tropical beef breed of cattle developed in southern Texas on the King Ranch. They were named for the Spanish land grant where Captain Richard King originally established the King Ranch. This breed was officially recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1940, becoming the first beef breed formed in the United States. The origin given by King Ranch is that it was formed by mating Brahman bulls with Beef Shorthorn cows, with the final composition being about three-eighths Brahman and five-eighths Shorthorn. In 1918, the King Ranch purchased 52 bulls title: Fort Worth Stockyards text: as they shop around the store. The city of Fort Worth is often referred to as "Where the West Begins." Many bars and nightclubs (including Billy Bob's Texas) are located in the vicinity, and the area has a Western motif. There is also an opry and a rodeo. The Fort Worth Stockyards are the last standing stockyards in the United States. Some volunteers still run the cattle drives through the stockyards, a practice developed in the late 19th century by the frontiersman Charles "Buffalo" Jones, who herded buffalo calves through the streets of Garden City, Kansas. On April 1, 2011,