“History of the Chisholm Trail in Northwestern Oklahoma” lecture with Jana Brown, Sod House Museum

Professor Jana Brown from Northwestern Oklahoma State University will be at the Sod House Museum on Saturday, September 16, at 10 am. Brown will present the “History of the Chisholm Trail in Northwestern Oklahoma”.

Brown will focus primarily on the history of the Chisholm Trail in northwestern Oklahoma. The Chisholm Trail is a representation of the rapid growth of the United States following the Civil War, as geographical changes to the trails occurred during the mass migration of cattle out of southern Texas to railheads in Missouri and Kansas. Trail routes reflect settlement patterns and the growth of the US. The Chisholm Trail is perhaps the most well-known trail, and has had the greatest impact on northwestern Oklahoma. Prior to being a cattle trail, it was Jesse Chisholm’s trade route from his trading post in central Oklahoma north to Kansas. Over the last 150 years the Chisholm Trail brought cattlemen to the Cherokee Outlet, and has served as a corridor between Texas and Kansas through Oklahoma. After settlement in northern Oklahoma, a rail line and Highway 81 were built using the Chisholm Trail as a template. This created a permanent imprint of days gone by when cowboys drove cattle north to feed a growing nation.

The Sod House Museum is located just south of the Dodge City cutoff (also known as the Cimarron cutoff and Red Fork Trail). It is located on the north side of the Cimarron River and cattle were driven up this trail to Dodge City from 1883 to 1887.