The Cattle Drives

The Cattle Drives. . Starting in 1866 the broad valley behind this marker was the scene of cattle drives from the south Texas brush country to Kansas railheads, where livestock was then shipped to eastern markets. These old routes where always imprecise because, as one writer observed: “the trails originated wherever a herd was shaped up and ended wherever a market was found.” This San Antonio to Austin segment, which approximates today’s I-35, was a trunk line with many feeders., From March through August, the great herds that wound through Hays County found ample grazing and numerous spring-fed streams (many now dried up.) The cattle forded the San Marcos river near today’s Cheatham Street bridge and were bedded along the east bank, generally between Aquarena Springs Drive and I-35. The herds proceeded to the vicinity of present Buda, then exited the county near Onion Creek., The arrival of the International and Great Northern Railway Company in 1881 substantially ended the trail drives. And not a moment too soon for homemakers who detested the billowing swarms of houseflies they attracted. . This historical marker is in San Marcos in Hays County Texas