Great Western Trail - Downtown - Throckmorton, TX
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member QuesterMark
N 33° 10.743 W 099° 10.632
14S E 483480 N 3671150
The town of Throckmorton is on the Great Western Trail (aka the Great Western Cattle Trail) as indicated by this concrete post marker in Pioneer Plaza across from the Throckmorton County Courthouse.
Waymark Code: WMWTAA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member NW_history_buff
Views: 4
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From the sign next to the concrete post,

GREAT WESTERN TRAIL

The Great Western Cattle Trail began around 1876.
While not as well known as the Chisholm Trail,
the Great Western actually moved more longhorns,
an estimated 6-7 million, to the northern markets.

The last cattle drive on the Great Western Trail was in 1894,
when 9,000 head of cattle were driven to South Dakota.

Today, the Trail roughly parallels US Hwy 183/283 N.
The Great Western Cattle Trail was the setting for the
novel and TV Show, "Lonesome Dove".

Road of Trail Name: Great Western Cattle Trail

State: Texas

County: Throckmorton

Historical Significance:
The Great Western Cattle Trail replaced the Chisholm Trail when that trail closed. It reached trailheads in Kansas and Nebraska and carried horses and longhorn cattle to ranches in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, and two provinces in Canada. (--from Wikipedia)

Years in use: 18

How you discovered it:
Questermark happened across the concrete post during a stop in the town of Throckmorton.

Book on Wagon Road or Trial:
Information presented here came from a sign at the waymark and from Wikipedia. Wikipedia cites the following: Mahoney, Sylvia Gann (2015). Finding the Great Western Trail (1st ed.). Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 9780896729438

Website Explination:
http://www.thegreatwesterntrail.com/

Why?:
This trail was used to move livestock from ranches in Texas up to railheads in Kansas and Nebraska from which the livestock went to meat packing plants. It was also used to move livestock up to ranches in the northwest to get those ranches going.

Directions:
Go to the old Throckmorton County Courthouse at 100 N Minter in Throckmorton (US Hwy 183). Turn around. The trail marker is in Pioneer Plaza across from the old courthouse.
Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this Waymark the poster must have a picture of either themselves, GPSr, or mascot. People in the picture with information about the waymark are preferred. If the waymarker can not be in the picture a picture of their GPSr or mascot will qualify. There are no exceptions to this rule.

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Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
WalksfarTX visited Great Western Trail - Downtown - Throckmorton, TX 06/24/2019 WalksfarTX visited it
QuesterMark visited Great Western Trail - Downtown - Throckmorton, TX 09/04/2017 QuesterMark visited it

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