About The Trail
The Great Western Cattle Trail Gallery is new to Woodward, however The Great Western Cattle Trail is not.
The Western Cattle Trail, often called the Great Western Trail or Dodge City Trail, carved a vital path through the American West during the late 19th century, guiding millions of Texas longhorns to railheads in Kansas, Nebraska, and beyond. In Woodward, Oklahoma, this historic trail left an indelible mark on the region’s identity, shaping its early economy and character as cattle drives thundered through the open prairies.
Stretching from the ranches of Texas to markets as far north as Montana and Canada, the Western Cattle Trail emerged in 1874, pioneered by John T. Lytle to sidestep the growing obstacles of earlier routes like the Shawnee and Chisholm Trails. Settlers and homesteaders had begun to close off those paths, wary of Texas fever—a cattle disease carried by ticks—and frustrated by herds trampling crops. The Western Trail offered a new artery, roughly following what is now U.S. Highway 183 through Oklahoma, with Woodward serving as a key waypoint on the journey to Dodge City, Kansas. Over its two-decade lifespan, the trail became the most heavily traveled cattle route in history, herding more than six million cattle and one million horses across the plains until its decline in the 1890s.
In Woodward, the trail crossed the North Canadian River, where the landscape shifted from flat, endless prairie to rolling hills, offering drovers a distinctive landmark on their grueling trek. The town itself, settled in 1893 during the opening of the Cherokee Strip, owed much of its early growth to the cattle industry. The trail’s passage brought economic life to the area, laying the foundation for Woodward’s later role as a hub for wheat and cattle processing. Drovers, dusty and weathered, would have guided their herds through this region, their cattle lowing across the river’s banks, leaving stories etched into the land.
The Western Cattle Trail’s legacy endures in Woodward, though the physical traces are subtle. Since 2003, efforts to mark the trail have placed cement posts every six to ten miles along its route, including through Oklahoma, with the first marker set south of Altus. In Woodward, visitors can explore this history at the Plains Indians and Pioneers Museum, where artifacts from the cowboy era evoke the trail’s significance. The museum offers a window into the lives of those who drove cattle through the region, their hardships and triumphs preserved in relics and stories. For those wishing to retrace the trail, U.S. Highway 183 offers a modern parallel to the historic route, winding through Woodward and revealing the same transition from prairie to hills that drovers once noted. Just north of town, a large wind farm with 34 turbines now dots the horizon, a striking contrast to the open range of the 19th century.
The trail’s broader impact stretched far beyond Woodward, shaping the cattle industry across the West. It fueled the growth of ranches in Wyoming and Montana, connecting the southern plains to distant markets. Yet by the 1890s, the trail’s era waned. Railroads extended into Texas, barbed wire fenced off the open range, and northern farmers grew increasingly hostile to the herds that threatened their crops and spread disease. The final major drive through Woodward’s region occurred in 1893, bound for Deadwood, South Dakota, marking the trail’s quiet end.
Today, the Western Cattle Trail’s story is kept alive through efforts like those of the Western Cattle Trail Association, which celebrated the trail’s 150th anniversary in 2024 with a conference in Dodge City. Local historical societies, such as the Kiowa County Historical Society near Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, have also worked to preserve the trail’s memory, marking its path for future generations. For those in Woodward, a visit to Boiling Springs State Park offers a chance to walk the same landscapes that drovers once crossed, feeling the echo of hooves in the rustling grass.
To delve deeper into the trail’s history, the Western Cattle Trail Association’s website provides resources and updates on preservation efforts. The Oklahoma Historical Society and travel guides like those found at www.travelok.com offer further insights for those eager to follow the trail’s path through Woodward and beyond, where the spirit of the Old West still lingers in the rolling hills.