Grayson County TXGenWeb



The Chisholm Trail was a combination of cattle routes used to move herds from south Texas to Kansas and Missouri between 1865 and 1875.  A side trail was called the Shawnee Trail, running from southern Texas, reaching Waco, branched eastward, crossed the Red River and goes through Indian Territory up to St. Louis, Missouri.  Texas drovers called the trail the Cattle Trail, the Kansas Trail or The Trail.

The "Shawnee Trail" name dates to 1874.  The origin of the name is believed to have come from the Indian Village near Denison, Texas - Shawneetown.  Or it may have come from the Shawnee Hills, which the trail skirted.

Shawneetown owes its name to the Indians and was the center of the Shawnee Indian reservation before Col. W. C. Young bought the land in 1850 and incorporated the town a short time later.


Shawnees were Algonquian-speaking people, as well as the Delaware Indians.  These tribes were driven from the Eastern United States and forced to move westward.  The Shawnees were invaluable guides for early expeditions and explorations by the United States Army.

An Illustrated History of Grayson County, Texas by Graham Landrum, 1960, pg10
The Shawnee Cattle Trail Passed San Antonio by Frank W. Jennings (website)


 Shawneetown History

Towns
Susan Hawkins
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