The Shawnee Trail
N 33° 07.885 W 096° 47.689
14S E 705713 N 3668020
Texas Historical Marker commemorating the rise and importance of the Preston Road, later known as the Shawnee Trail.
Waymark Code: WMDVTD
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/27/2012
Views: 10
Once located on Preston Rd, between Prestmont Rd and Hacienda Trl in Frisco, TX, the marker was relocated nearby to a place in front of Heritage Hall on the grounds of Collin County Community College (Preston Ridge Campus).
Marker Number: 6201
Marker Text:
In 1838 the Republic of Texas Congress appropriated money for construction of a north-south road opening the Northern Texas area to trade. The project leader, Colonel William G. Cooke, followed an existing Indian trail which reached from the Red River to Austin. A supply fort established on the river near the trading post of Holland Coffee was named for Captain William G. Preston, a veteran of the Texas Revolution, who was in charge of troops stationed there in 1840. The part of the road running south from the Red River to the Trinity River crossing was known as the Preston Road. At the Trinity crossing in 1841 John Neely Bryan began the settlement of Dallas.
By the 1850s the road was known as the Shawnee Trail and was used by immigrants coming to Texas. It also served as a cattle trail, leading to northern markets. The number of cattle drives decreased as new trails were opened to serve the growing Texas cattle industry. Further decline occurred when rail lines were completed to the area in the 1870s.
Lebanon served as an assembly point for cattle drives on the Shawnee Trail. Bypassed by the Frisco Railroad in 1902, the town declined. The post office, opened in 1860, closed in 1905. (1980)
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.