A very popular event is the Great American Cattle Drive held every Fall. They typically drive 140 Texas Longhorns up the Chisholm Trail to the Ellsworth Trail Head, and then down the main street of Ellsworth, Kansas – followed by a big party and several days of special events.
The event is sponsored by the Drover’s Hall of Fame. That organization is dedicated to those cowboy “drovers” who herded cattle in the late 1800s. From their website: “It recognizes the unique history of the cattle drive era by honoring the drovers, the cattle, the horses, the men, the women, the railroads, and the cattletowns which made it all happen by sharing the legacy, promotion the beef industry and preserving the cowboy way of life……
“This was the birth of the American cattle industry in the United States and no place was more important than Ellsworth. Between 1868 and 1978, the cattle town was a major shipping point on the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
“The Texas Longhorns were moved along parts of the Chisholm Trail and the Ellsworth cattle trail, arriving in large numbers by late May and June of each year. Cattle buyers from feed yards and processing centers of the more populated areas of the East filled Ellsworth’s hotels in anticipation of buying cattle on the surrounding prairies.
“The cattle purchased were then driven to Ellsworth’s extensive stockyards and shipped east by train. In addition, buyers from the new ranch lands in the territory, such as Wyoming, purchased stock for grazing. The cowboys drove these cattle on extended trail drives to those ranch lands.
“Ellsworth’s “End of the Trail” heritage provides a perfect atmosphere to tell the story of the trail drives that forged the romantic legacy of the American cowboy.”
You can get more information at their website HERE.
If you have problems seeing the video below click HERE.
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