1874-1896
—GWCT —
The Great Western Cattle Trail began at Bandera, TX. As the demand for beef increased in the east, returning Civil War soldiers headed wild longhorn cattle from south Texas and Mexico north to the railhead at Dodge City, KS. The first herd consisting of 3000 head, was driven north up the trail by Capt. John T. Lytle in 1874. They crossed the Red River into Indian territory (OK) at Doan's Crossing about 22 miles S.E. of present day Altus, OK. Grazing the rich grassland, they continued north to Soldier Springs, located 9 miles south and 1 mile west of present day Canute, OK. Passing about 2 miles east of Canute, they winded north to Dodge City, KS. Eventually arriving in Nebraska at the Red Cloud Indian Agency. The herds of cattle averaged 3,000 head requiring 10 men to handle them. Each cowboy, most in their teens or early twenties, required 7 horses adding 70-100 head, per cattle drive. About 100 herds crossed Oklahoma, usually from March to Sept., each year. The trail could be from 6 to 20 miles wide depending on how many came at once. More than 7 million cattle moved up the trail during its 20 year existence of the trail.| HM Number | HM298L |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Year Placed | 2010 |
| Placed By | Canute Lions Club |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Tuesday, July 10th, 2018 at 10:01pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 14S E 475355 N 3919856 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 35.42181667, -99.27146667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 35° 25.309', W 99° 16.288' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 35° 25' 18.54" N, 99° 16' 17.28" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 580 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 115 E Hwy 66, Canute OK 73626, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.
Comments 0 comments