The Trail Drivers of Southwest Texas
Yoakum, Lavaca County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In Memory of The Trail Drivers of Southwest Texas who passed this way 1867-1887.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This memorial honors the cowboys who drove great herds of longhorns out of Southwest Texas between 1867 and 1887, the heyday of the long cattle drives north to railheads and open ranges. Yoakum sat squarely along the routes these trail drivers followed.
Why it matters
The trail drives were a defining chapter of the American West, moving millions of cattle and cementing the cowboy as an enduring national symbol.
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Related events
- · Texas cattle drives
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Yoakum rose on land granted by Mexico in 1835 to settler John May, in country used to gather cattle bound up the Chisholm Trail. The arrival of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad in 1887 turned it into a transportation hub, and the town — named for rail official B. F. Yoakum — incorporated in 1889 around industries in beef, leather, and canning.
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