Ranching & Farming,A New Century

Texas History, Chapters 18 and 20

Spanish Introduce CattleThe first cattle

brought to America arrived on the ships of Spanish explorers in the 1500s.

Spanish Bring HorsesMustangs:

Small, hardy horses descended from horses brought by the Spanish

Early Ranchers Vaqueros, or

cowhands, herded and drove cattle

Mexican American vaqueros were found on South Texas ranches

Early Ranchers Open Range:

public land that could be used by anyone

Before the Civil War, most cattle lived on the open range and were slaughtered for their hides

King Ranch Richard King bought the Santa Gertrudis,

old Spanish land grant on the southern Gulf Coast

King Ranch became one of the largest in Texas

Trail DrivesCattle were

driven, or moved, in large herds to railroad towns to find better markets

Trail DrivesLivestock were

kept at stockyards, or holding pens, in major railroad towns of Chicago and St. Louis

Major Cattle Trails Sedalia Trail ran between Texas and

Sedalia, Missouri Missouri farmers complained that cattle

destroyed their crops; farmers blocked trails by building fences and barricades

Major Cattle TrailsJoseph McCoy persuaded

railroads and cattle drovers to meet further west to avoid Missouri

Major Cattle Trails Drovers used the Chisolm Trail

through Austin, Waco and Fort Worth to avoid Missouri

Chisolm Trail was named after Jesse Chisolm, a Native American trader

Major Cattle Trails Goodnight-

Loving Trail was used to move cattle west to the ranges of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana

Life Along the TrailWrangler’s job

was to take care of the horses

Life Along the Trail Cowhands took

turns “riding herd” at night, standing guard to prevent stampedes or raids by Native Americans or rustlers

Life Along the TrailFew battles

with Native Americans: drovers had to pay tolls to cross the Indian territory

Big Ranches After the buffalo were wiped out and

Native Americans were removed from the Plains, West Texas and the Panhandle became open to ranchers

Big Ranches Thomas Bugbee

founded the Shoe Bar Ranch, one of the most famous of the large ranches

The invention of barbed wire ended the open range

Big Ranches Ranchers began

enclosing their lands, cutting off the water supply to other ranchers’ herds

Windmills pumped water from wells, making fenced pastures possible.

Big Ranches Cattle were branded

to show ownership Ranchers often

branded their cattle with their initials

Ex: JA ranch in Palo Duro Canyon belonged to John Adair

Decline of Ranching Severe blizzards and long droughts in

the 1880s led to a decline in cattle ranching

Too many cattle meant rangelands were overgrazed and cattle prices fell

Sheep IndustryAfter the Civil

War, a growing demand for wool brought even more sheep ranchers to Texas

Cultures Meet in Ranch Country

Mexican American vaqueros were found on South Texas ranches

Most shepherds were Mexican Americans

Cultures Meet in Ranch Country

African Americans were cowhands and trail bosses

Women also settled the frontier and built ranches

A New CenturyBy 1900,

Dallas had emerged as the major city in central Texas.

Texas Gold The discovery of

a major oil deposit changed the economy of Texas and the U.S.

Gusher at Spindletop began the oil boom in Texas

Spindletop 1901: oil field near

Beaumont produced four times as much oil as had been produced by ALL Texas oil wells the previous year

Boomtowns Populations of Beaumont and Humble

grew practically overnight Humble Oil Company later became

the multinational corporation known as Exxon-Mobil

Good Luck on Your Test!