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Famous Cattle Towns

Sedalia, Missouri: The 1866 Railhead for Texas Longhorns

Sedalia was the first big railhead for Texas longhorns after the Civil War, and then the herds went to Kansas.

Who founded Sedalia?

General George Rappeen Smith bought 503 acres and recorded the first plat on November 30, 1857, according to Legends of America's Sedalia history. He first named the town Sedville, after his daughter Sarah, known as Sed. Lots sold for up to $75 in 1858, but the town existed mostly on paper until October 1860, when a joint plat with David W. Bouldin renamed it Sedalia. The founding date is therefore 1857 for the first plat and 1860 for the town under its present name.

Smith pushed for a railroad. Sedalia became the terminus of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which arrived by the end of 1860, and the first passenger train came through on January 17, 1861.

Why did Texas cattle come to Sedalia in 1866?

After the Civil War Texas had cattle in quantity and the North wanted beef. The Kansas Historical Society's cowtown article notes that Texas had about five million cattle and no railroads to ship them. In spring and summer 1866 about 260,000 head of Texas cattle were driven north to Sedalia, the end of the Missouri Pacific line, making it a cow town.

The arithmetic drew them: a longhorn worth about $3 to $4 in Texas could bring roughly ten times that in Chicago, where slaughterhouses would pay almost any price for beef. Cattle cost drovers about $1 per head to bring up, so the drives stayed profitable despite heavy losses.

The trail to Sedalia and its dangers

The route ran through rough country. Drovers faced conflicts with Indians, the wooded Ozark hills, and angry farmers who feared the herds would spread Texas fever to their own cattle. Many cattle never reached Sedalia. The town built stockyards to receive the ones that did.

Legends of America's article calls the route the Sedalia Trail, while other accounts link it to the Shawnee Trail, and this page does not try to settle the naming. Sedalia remained a starting point for trade routes to Texas and Oklahoma.

What Made It Work

Sedalia's cattle year was short, and the reasons for its success and decline are both in the record.

It never held the trade, but it showed that Texas beef could be moved by rail.

  • It had a railroad at the right moment, with the first passenger train in January 1861 and the line open to Texas drovers in 1866.
  • It built stockyards to receive herds that arrived in the spring and summer of 1866.
  • It benefited from the price gap between Texas and Chicago, roughly ten to one for a steer.
  • It served as a hub: Sedalia stayed a shipping point through the 19th century and a gateway for trade to Texas and Oklahoma.
  • It lost the contest to Abilene. In 1867 Joseph McCoy laid out the Chisholm Trail to draw traffic away, and by 1868 more cattle went to Abilene.
  • The costs fell on farmers and drovers: fear of Texas fever, trail losses and violence limited the route.

How did Abilene take the trade?

Joseph McCoy chose Abilene in spring 1867, when the town had only a few log cabins, and built the Drovers Cottage and Great Western stockyards there. The Kansas Historical Society reports that about 35,000 head arrived in the first season. McCoy's Chisholm Trail was meant to draw traffic away from Sedalia.

By 1868 more cattle went to Abilene than to Sedalia. Sedalia stayed a cattle shipping point through the 19th century, but its moment as the leading Texas railhead was short.

Sedalia beyond cattle

Sedalia is better known today for other things. The ragtime composer Scott Joplin attended George R. Smith College and played piano at the Maple Leaf Club at 116 East Main Street, and the Maple Leaf Rag was published in Sedalia in 1899. The Missouri State Fair chose Sedalia over five other cities; the first fair in 1901 drew more than 17,000 paying visitors, and today it draws nearly 400,000 visitors every August.

The cattle story belongs to a longer one told in the ranching section of farm.FM, and readers can find related reading in a farm.FM story on Texas longhorn drives. Another view of the cow town years is in Legends of America's Sedalia cowtown article.

Timeline

  1. 1857George R. Smith records the first plat, naming the town Sedville
  2. 1860Renamed Sedalia; Missouri Pacific railroad arrives by year end
  3. 1861First passenger train arrives January 17
  4. 1866About 260,000 Texas cattle driven to Sedalia
  5. 1867Joseph McCoy lays out the Chisholm Trail to Abilene
  6. 1868More cattle go to Abilene than to Sedalia
  7. 1901First Missouri State Fair held at Sedalia

Frequently asked questions

Was Sedalia a cow town?

Yes, briefly. In spring and summer 1866 about 260,000 Texas cattle were driven north to Sedalia, the end of the Missouri Pacific line. By 1868 Abilene, Kansas, drew more cattle.

Why did Texas cattle go to Sedalia?

It was the nearest railroad terminus. A longhorn worth $3 to $4 in Texas could bring about ten times that in Chicago, so drovers walked herds north despite the hazards.

Who founded Sedalia, Missouri?

General George Rappeen Smith recorded the first plat in 1857 as Sedville. A joint plat with David W. Bouldin in October 1860 renamed it Sedalia.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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