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Celebrating 150 Years of the Chisholm Trail: The Driving Of The Herd in Fort Worth

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Tony Maples Photography

 

The mystique of the cowboys and the great cattle drives of the Chisholm Trail and the late 19th Century can be experienced on a daily basis in the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District as twice daily The Herd (Texas longhorn steers) are driven down Exchange Avenue by real Texas cowhands. And, in celebration of the Trail’s sesquicentennial, you and your family can witness it all on a visit and stay in the area as they bring a part of a bygone era and perhaps a part of your dreams to life. You’re not going to see any wild-and-woolly action, but you will see some honest-to-goodness cowboys, authentically dressed, riding through town, driving The Herd over the cobblestones of the main thoroughfare.

Celebrating 150 Years of the Chisholm Trail: The Driving Of The Herd in Fort Worth

Photo: Facebook/Fort Worth Herd

In their best efforts to keep everything as historically accurate as possible, these cowhands bring a part of the old west to life each day at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., in front of any number of local business people and tourists who both wait and watch for the cattle drive with an enthusiasm that is palpable. The cattle are driven along E. Exchange Avenue in front of the Fort Worth Livestock Exchange Building and back to their holding pens behind that same facility, where viewing can take place afterwards. As real as the longhorns themselves, the cowhands wear authentic chaps, boots and hats, riding high in their saddles, as they drive The Herd slowly and cautiously past onlookers. Visitors can watch from their seats at Stockyard Station restaurants, or find a convenient space along the street or on the lawn of the Livestock Exchange Building.

Celebrating 150 Years of the Chisholm Trail: The Driving Of The Herd in Fort Worth

Photo: Facebook/Stockyards Championship Rodeo

Drovers are available before and after each cattle drive for photo opportunities and are always ready to answer any questions guests to the area might have. The cowboys and the Texas longhorn may be two of the most steadfast symbols of the old west and the days of the cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail, and they’re also a big part of why Fort Worth earned its nickname “Cowtown.” Forming the heart of that bygone era, each day the drovers at the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District bring the past to life, ensuring The Herd safely traverses Exchange Avenue, and offering visitors a memorable glimpse of that time, complete with jingling spurs, bawling cattle bawling, and the rhythm of their hoofbeats down the cobblestone street.

Source:

Fort Worth