A

ABILENE TRAIL

ABILENE TRAIL was a cattle trail from northern Texas to the railway terminal in Abilene, Kansas. Its exact route is disputed owing to its many offshoots. The trail crossed the Red River a little east of Henrietta, Texas, and continued north across Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) to Caldwell, Kansas, and then on past Wichita and Newton to Abilene. The first herds were probably driven along its path in 1866, although the trail was not named until the city of Abilene was established in 1867.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Haywood, C. Robert. Trails South: The Wagon-Road Economy in the Dodge City–Panhandle Region. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986.

Skaggs, Jimmy M. The Cattle-Trailing Industry: Between Supply and Demand, 1866–1890. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1973.

Edward Everett Dale/H. S.

See also Cattle Drives.