The Texas Road

The Texas Road. Honey Springs Battlefield - 1863. Prior to the movement of settlers into Texas in the 1830s and 1840s, the northern portion of the road, which passed through what would later become Honey Springs, was known as the Osage Trace. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Osage used this area to gather salt from the Neosho (Grand) River Valley. American and French traders traded with the Osage along this path, exchanging items such as furs and peltries for ammunition, knives, beads, vermillion, arm bands, strouding, and other items. , Cattle Drives , The Texas Road was also used as a cattle trail during the 1840s and 1850s. Better known as the Shawnee Trail, thousands of longhorn cattle were trailed from Texas to Kansas and Missouri., Coining the Game , Countless settlers moving to Texas traveled up and down the road. It was at this time that the term "Texas Road" was coined by newspapers advertising the travel route to Texas. As gold seekers, later known as 49ers, rushed to California, they traveled through a portion of the Texas Road leading to the southern route towards California and later Denver, Colorado. The north-south Texas Road converged with the east-west gold rush road leading to California in North Fork Town. , Laying the Groundwork for the Future , After the Civil War, the Texas Road continued to be traveled. However, by 1872, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway was constructed parallel to the Texas Road, making the road obsolete. During the early 20th century a main highway was constructed, the Jefferson Highway, which roughly followed the old Texas Road. The Jefferson Highway eventually gave way to what is now Highway 69.