Famous Cattle Towns and Beef Capitals
The railheads, stockyards and beef capitals that grew up where cattle met the market.
30 profiles
Kansas
- est. 1857AbileneA cluster of log cabins in 1867, Abilene shipped hundreds of thousands of Texas longhorns within four years.Kansas
- est. 1871CaldwellThe first stop north of Indian Territory shipped about 100,000 head a year in the early 1880s and buried a long list…Kansas
- est. 1872Dodge CityBuilt on buffalo hides and the Santa Fe Railroad, Dodge City shipped Texas cattle by the thousands until quarantine…Kansas
- est. 1867EllsworthFor four or five seasons Ellsworth was the busiest place in Kansas for Texas longhorns, and then the trade moved on.Kansas
- est. 1867HaysBorn beside an army fort in 1867, Hays outfitted wagon trains, shipped some Texas cattle and kept its Boot Hill.Kansas
- est. 1871NewtonThe Santa Fe reached Newton in July 1871, and one violent summer gave the town a name it spent years living down.Kansas
- est. 1858Baxter SpringsBaxter Springs took Texas cattle when Missouri closed its doors, then watched the railroad end the trade.Kansas
- est. 1868WichitaWichita lived as a Texas cattle market for only a few seasons in the 1870s, but those seasons gave the city its start.Kansas
Australia
- est. 1880sCamoowealA small outback border town at the edge of the Barkly Tableland, known for its drovers.Australia
- est. 1840sCasinoA Richmond Valley town where a grower-owned meat company and a festival have shaped local identity.Australia
- est. 1880sLongreachA railway terminus on the Thomson River that became the capital of the Queensland outback.Australia
- est. 1850sRockhamptonA Fitzroy River city with the cattle numbers, the meatworks and the expo to back its title.Australia
- est. 1860sRomaA Maranoa town where store cattle from five states change hands.Australia
Texas
- est. 1887AmarilloAmarillo grew from a railroad townsite in 1887 into a major cattle shipping point for the Texas Panhandle.Texas
- est. 1867San AngeloSan Angelo started as a village serving soldiers and became a hub for the sheep and cattle ranches of West Texas.Texas
- est. 1904KingsvilleKingsville grew out of a railroad built across King Ranch land and became the working town of the ranch's South Texas…Texas
- est. 1876TascosaA village of never more than 300 permanent residents, Tascosa served the big Panhandle syndicates and paid a high…Texas
- est. 1849Fort WorthFort Worth began as a place where drovers rested and grew into one of the largest livestock markets in the country.Texas
Missouri
- est. 1871Kansas City (stockyards)The West Bottoms market where western ranchers finally got a competitive price.Missouri
- est. 1843St. JosephFrom Oregon Trail jumping-off point to one of the nation's busiest livestock markets.Missouri
- est. 1860SedaliaSedalia was the first big railhead for Texas longhorns after the Civil War, and then the herds went to Kansas.Missouri