The Great Western Cattle Trail - Belle Fourche, SD
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 44° 40.450 W 103° 51.187
13T E 590902 N 4947395
From Texas to Montana, moved cattle and sometime whole ranches.
Waymark Code: WMPM9J
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 09/19/2015
Views: 9
County of marker: Butte County
Location of marker: 415 5th Ave, Tri-State Museum & Center of the Nation site, on sidewalk to the cabin, Belle Fourche
Marker text:
THE GREAT
WESTERN CATTLE
TRAIL
The Great Western Cattle Trail embodied the spirit, determination, and grit of the early cowboys and remains one of the most romantic and interesting times of our past. The entire trail extended from Metamoros, Mexico to Saskatchewan, Canada (Texas to Montana in the U.S.). After the Civil War, between 10 to 12 million cattle were driven north from Texas, developing the cattle industry into the High Plains area of Dakota Territory, Wyoming and Montana.
The coming of homesteaders (many of who worked for the cattle companies) and fencing of the Open Range changed the methods of cattle operations. Record blizzards of 1886-1887 killed millions of cattle. Fortunately, cattle were replenished by trail drives lasting until the 1890s.
The town of Belle Fourche was established in 1889 when the railroad agreed to come to Belle Fourche. The name (meaning "Beautiful Fork" in French) was used by early explorers when France owned the area and refers to the confluence of the Belle Fourche and Redwater Rivers and Hay Creek. The town's history is based on the cattle industry, which provided a shipping point for the thousands of cattle grazing on rangeland north and west of town. By 1895, the railroad was shipping 4,500 train carloads of cattle per month in the peak season, making it the world's largest market-to-market shipping point.
Tri-State livestock continue to provide a significant contribution to the number one industry of South Dakota.