Historical Marker Program

The Great Western Cattle Trail

Jackson County
Location: on US-62, two miles east of Altus
Coordinates: 34.638035, -99.268591
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Jackson County Historical Society
Topics: Ranching; Territorial Period, 1861–1907; Transportation

Beginning in 1874, millions of cattle and horses were driven from Texas through what became western Oklahoma over the westernmost of the famous cattle trails. The trail crossed the Red River and Doan's Crossing in Jackson County and continued north to Dodge City, Kansas. By the 1880s, many drives continued past Dodge City into Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and Canada. The last recorded use of the trail occurred in 1894. A series of granite and concrete markers commemorate the trail route through Oklahoma.