Early Cattle Trade

Famed for its beef since era of the Republic, Texas fed a great part of the Confederacy-- both civilians and army-- in the Civil War years, 1861-1865. Routes for beef supplying were many: Shreveport Trail to Vicksburg, Miss.; Alexandria Trail to Natchez, Miss.; Opelousas Trail to Woodville, Miss., and on to Mobile, Ala.; Old Government Road to Little Rock, Ark.; Oliver Loving's 1859 trail north, to Indian Territory; trails to all army depots and even to Mexico. Cowboys had to swim cattle across rivers-- even the Mississippi. After undergoing such hardships, one outfit was mistakenly arrested by Confederates. Lt. Col. J. F. Scurlock and son, from Johnson County, on a Texas beef drive into southern Louisiana, were arrested by Federals and died in prison, of fever. Meredith Hart (1811-1864), a leading beef supplier, came to Johnson County in 1855, after fighting for the Texas Republic in 1836. In the 1850s, he sold beef to the U.S. Army. During the Civil War, he was one of the ranchers victimized by beef contractors using counterfeit money, but accepted losses in the faith that beef was feeding his sons and others on Confederate fighting fronts.

Early Cattle Trade is a historical marker in Rio Vista, Johnson County, dedicated in 1965. It is one of 71 historical markers documented in Johnson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 139 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.2358, -97.3793 near Rio Vista. The nearest cataloged historic site is Briden, Henry, Cabin (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Menefee Reunion, Rio Vista, and Rio Vista Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5251001338. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.