The Shawnee Trail

In 1838 the Republic of Texas Congress appropriated money for construction of a north-south road opening the northern Texas area to trade. The project leader, Colonel William G. Cooke, followed an existing Indian trail which reached from the Red River to Austin. A supply fort established on the river near the trading post of Holland Coffee was named for Captain William G. Preston, a veteran of the Texas Revolution, who was in charge of troops stationed there in 1840. The part of the road running south from the Red River to the Trinity River crossing was known as the Preston Road. At the Trinity River crossing in 1841 John Neely Bryan began the settlement of Dallas. By the 1850s the road was known as the Shawnee Trail and was used by immigrants coming to Texas. It also served as a cattle trail, leading to northern markets. The number of cattle drives decreased as new trails were opened to serve the growing Texas cattle industry. Further decline occurred when rail lines were completed to the area in the 1870s. Lebanon served as an assembly point for cattle drives on the Shawnee Trail. Bypassed by the Frisco Railroad in 1902, the town declined. The post office, opened in 1860, closed in 1905. (1980)

The Shawnee Trail is a historical marker in Frisco, Collin County, dedicated in 1980. It is one of 193 historical markers documented in Collin County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 345 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.1314, -96.7948 near Frisco. The nearest cataloged historic site is Frisco Methodist Church (historical marker), about 0.9 miles away. Others within a short drive include Dunaway Cemetery, Site of Lebanon, and T. J. Campbell House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5085006201. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.