The Mackenzie Trail
Old Glory, Stonewall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Mackenzie Trail was a significant route in Texas history. French explorer Pierre Vial and Spanish explorer Jose Mares used parts of the trail in separate expeditions (1786-88); Captain Randolph B. Marcy (1849), and Robert E. Lee (1856) came through the area as well. In 1871, Colonel Ranald Mackenzie sent Tonkawa scouts and cavalrymen from Fort Griffin to find a trail to the High Plains which they could employ in a campaign against the Northern Comanches and their allies, the Kiowas, in response to an attack. The trail crossed the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River (.5 mi SE) and followed it west to Double Mountain by way of Cottonwood Spring (2 mi W), which was used historically by indigenous peoples and later became part of the Comanche war trail system. The trail then went northwest to the Caprock. Mackenzie led 600 troops along this trail in pursuit of the Native Americans in 1871 and in later expeditions. The route was also used during the Red River War (1874-75). In 1876, Charles C. Rath established Rath City on the trail (15 mi W), using the route to capitalize on the buffalo hide business. As the era of the open range ended in the 1880s, farmers bought property and settled in the area, establishing a number of rural communities. Meanwhile, large ranches were established, including W.F. Rayner’s Call Bar Ranch. Rayner also established the Rayner community, located on the Mackenzie Trail; it became Stonewall County’s first county seat in 1889. By 1909, the trail was replaced by the Stamford & Northwestern Railroad. In less than 40 years of formal use, the Mackenzie Trail significantly influenced the development of Stonewall County and the Southern and Rolling Plains. (2009)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Mackenzie Trail followed corridors used for centuries, including a Comanche war trail and springs long relied on by Indigenous travelers; French and Spanish explorers and, later, U.S. officers like Marcy and Robert E. Lee passed through the region. In 1871 Colonel Ranald Mackenzie had Tonkawa scouts find a route from Fort Griffin to the High Plains for his campaigns against the Comanches and Kiowas, and he led hundreds of troops along it during those pursuits and the Red River War of 1874–75. Buffalo hunters, then ranchers and farmers followed, founding communities like Rayner, briefly Stonewall County's seat. By 1909 the railroad had replaced the trail.
Why it matters
In under forty years the trail carried the region through the Indian Wars, the buffalo trade, and the close of the open range — the compressed drama of the Southern Plains' conquest and settlement.
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Related people
- · Ranald Mackenzie
- · Robert E. Lee
- · Randolph B. Marcy
- · W.F. Rayner
Related events
- · Red River War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Stonewall County
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