Goodnight-Loving Trail
Mentone, Loving County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Blazed from the Fort Griffin-Dodge City Trail, through New Mexico to Colorado about 1860 by Oliver Loving 1812-1867, first cattle trail driver from Texas.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This marker recalls the legendary Goodnight-Loving Trail, the cattle route pushed from the Fort Griffin–Dodge City road across New Mexico and into Colorado in the mid-19th century. It honors Oliver Loving (1812–1867), remembered as the first Texan to trail cattle north to distant markets, whose partnership with Charles Goodnight helped open the great era of Texas cattle drives.
Why it matters
The Goodnight-Loving Trail helped turn a war-battered Texas cattle surplus into the beef that fed a growing nation, launching the cowboy age that became American legend.
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Related people
- · Oliver Loving
Themes & tags
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