Holly in Prowers County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Trail City

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2023

1. Trail City Marker

Inscription.
At frontier towns where are centered many cattle… there are always to be found a number of bad characters, both male and female; of the very worst class in the universe, such as have fallen below the level of the lowest type of the brute creation.
—Joseph McCoy, Sketches of the Cattle Trade of the West and Southwest, 1874

Faced with a Kansas quarantine on their cattle, Texas ranchers began driving their herds through eastern Colorado in 1885. That year over 184,000 head of cattle passed through tiny Trail City, which sat on the Kansas line just north of the Arkansas River. Northbound trail riders got their first paychecks here, and they took full advantage of the thirty-odd saloons, gambling houses, and brothels built for their enjoyment. Shockingly sinful even by Wild West standards, Trail City produced enough drunkenness, violence, and debauchery to shame towns many times its size. Its location made Trail City a haven for criminals, who could slip across the state line as necessary to elude lawmen. But by 1890 the cattle drives had ended, and this Sodom on the prairie abruptly vanished.

I saw a lot of hard work on the range but very little shooting. In fact, from ’85 on… there never was but one shooting scrape, and then nobody got killed.
—E. C. Abbott, 1939

Knights

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of the frontier they weren't. With all due respect to John Wayne, the average cowboy was an exhausted, homesick lad who could do two things exceedingly well — ride and herd. Usually in his teens or early twenties, perhaps African American or Mexican, this well-trained, disciplined employee was charged with moving $100,000 worth of live merchandise over one thousand miles of wilderness. Though watchful for Indians and outlaws, the cowboy fought most of his battles against boredom, fatigue, ornery steers, lightning storms, and the dust kicked up by ten thousand hooves. For his exertions he received from $25 to $40 per month. Town stopovers did tend to get rowdy, but what the cowboy craved most — more than drink, more than women — was a bath and a shave.

[top photo caption]
• Cattle drive, c. 1890

Erected 1997 by Colorado Historical Society, Colorado Department of Transportation, and Federal Highway Administration.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the History Colorado

Marker detail: “Just Camped” image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Chuch and Sheri Bowen

2. Marker detail: “Just Camped”

series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1885.

Location. 38° 2.965′ N, 102° 3.085′ W. Marker is in Holly, Colorado, in Prowers County. It can be reached from Santa Fe Trail Scenic Byway (U.S. 50/400 at milepost 467.4), half a mile west of the Colorado/Kansas state border, on the left when traveling west. The marker is in the Colorado Department of Transportation Holly Rest Stop. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Holly CO 81047, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Eastern Plains.

It is also in the American Mountain West,

on the Great Plains,

on the Southern Plains,

on the High Plains,

and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Comanchería,

the Dust Bowl,

and the Republic of Texas.

Other nearby markers. At least 4 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Arkansas River (here, next to this marker); Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway — Colorado (here, next

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2023

3. Trail City Marker

This marker is the leftmost of two panels on the north side of this Colorado interpretive kiosk. The Colorado Department of Transportation Holly Rest Stop parking lot is in the background.

to this marker); Explore Santa Fe Trail History (a few steps from this marker); Santa Fe Trail (approx. 2½ miles away in Kansas).

Also see . . .
1. Trail City, Kansas Ghost Town (United States Ghost Towns).

(by Jason Smith) Excerpt: You’ll find Trail City‘s remains two miles west of Coolidge, Kansas, on Colorado soil, where it flourished as a bustling cattle trade hub from 1874-1884. Founded by Martin S. Culver, this infamous border town handled over 300,000 cattle at its peak in 1881. Known as “the wickedest city in Colorado,” it attracted outlaws who exploited jurisdictional gaps between states. While its prosperity lasted only three years, Trail City’s wild legacy captures the raw essence of America’s frontier spirit.

(Submitted on December 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. A Night in Trail City: 1887 (The Plainsman Herald).

Sylvester Fowler’s firsthand account, “A Night in Trail City,” published in the Westmoreland Recorder in 1887, vividly depicts the lawless and debauched atmosphere of a boomtown fueled by the Texas cattle trade. The excerpt from Letters From Colorado:
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1880-1889 by Kent Brooks provides context, explaining that Fowler’s letter is one of many personal accounts from Colorado settlers in the 1880s. These letters, published in newspapers and compiled in a book available on Amazon, offer insights into the daily lives, challenges, and aspirations of westward migrants, covering topics ranging from occupational pursuits to community events and the prevailing political and economic conditions. Fowler’s graphic description highlights the transient nature of such towns, contrasting the wild, violent nights with the imminent end of the cattle drives and the subsequent arrival of civilization. This Episode is brought to you by Golden Plains Insurance. Check out the full text of “A Night in Trail City in the December 18th issue of the Plainsman Herald.

(Submitted on December 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 97 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.