South Dallas in Dallas County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Fabulous Quarter Horse Steel Dust
Photographed By Kayla Harper, June 28, 2020
1. Fabulous Quarter Horse Steel Dust Marker
19th century Texas frontier champion who became foundation sire for the most popular quarter horse strain of the 20th Century. A Virginia type horse foaled by a Kentucky thoroughbred mare, Steel Dust was brought in 1844 as a colt to the Texas Republic by settlers Middleton Perry and Jones Greene. On Ten Mile Creek (near Lancaster, SE of Dallas) at the farm track of Thomas McKee Ellis, father-in-law of his owners, Steel Dust outran all challengers. He was about 16 hands high and so quick that his jockey coated his back with molasses in order to stay on. Steel Dust won a spectacular race in McKinney against local favorite Monmouth in 1855; soon afterward defeated Brown Dick, from Hopkins County. Later in 1855, going against Shiloh, a horse from Tennessee, Steel Dust was hurt at the starting gate. He soon went blind, never raced again, but survived at stud for years. The famed King Ranch in south Texas began to use breeding lines from Steel Dust and Shiloh in 1916, winning many honors at the State Fair of Texas. From this ranch has come stock for circuses, rodeos, and polo teams. The American Quarter Horse Association was formed in 1940. Quarter horses are now as much in demand for racing as for farm and ranch work.
Erected 1971 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 6889.)
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Animals.
Location. 32° 46.752′ N, 96° 45.47′ W. Marker is in Dallas, Texas, in Dallas County. It is in South Dallas. Marker can be reached from Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. The marker is next to the Coliseum facing the Cotton Bowl stadium within the Texas State Fairgrounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3978 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, Dallas TX 75201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Hall of State (approx. ¼ mile away); WRR Radio (approx. ¼ mile away); A Tribute to Texas Women in the Civil War (approx. ¼ mile away); Texas Centennial Exposition (approx. 0.4 miles away); Continental D.A.R. House (approx. 0.4 miles away); State Fair of Texas (approx. half a mile away); Dr. Frank E. Rutherford Veterinary Hospital (approx. half a mile away); Communications in Dallas (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dallas.
Photographed By Kayla Harper, June 28, 2020
2. Fabulous Quarter Horse Steel Dust Marker
Photographed By Kayla Harper, June 28, 2020
3. Texas State Fair Coliseum
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 29, 2020, by Kayla Harper of Dallas, Texas. This page has been viewed 495 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 29, 2020, by Kayla Harper of Dallas, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
