Capt. John T. Lytle

Capt. John T. Lytle. 1844 – 1907. This is a two sided marker , front , In 1874 John t Lytle drove a herd of 3500 longhorn cattle from south Texas to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. The trail that he mapped would later be known as The Great Western Cattle Trail, the greatest of all the cattle trails. The trail was longer (Mexico to Canada) carried more cattle (6 to 8 million) and was in use longer (1874 – 1893). The trail was also know as The Texas Trail, Dodge City Trail, and more recently The Lonesome Dove Trail. , “Capt. Lytle was a well prepared drover and a great man” words of Corwin F. Doan , back of marker , Jonathan Doan established a trading post later known as Doan's Store in April 1878. His nephew, Corwin Doan arrived in October 1878 and took over the business. The U.S. Postal Department designated a post office at the store in 1879, with Corwin Doan as postmaster. The store provided supplies to trail drivers, American Indians, and settlers in old Greer County. Ouanah Parker was a frequent visitor during the the trail driving era. The store did as much as 1200 dollars in business per day. It was not unusual for bacon and flour to be sold in carload lots. Big money deals were often made at the store, especially when cattlemen came from Montana and Wyoming to buy entire herds of cattle. Doan's store was the focal point of The Great Western Trail nicknamed the “Jumping Off Place” by trail drivers.