The Great Western Cattle Trail traveled through Coleman County where residents will honor their history and heritage this weekend with the Great Western Trail Days and Longhorn Show.  Activities are Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25.

The Great Western Cattle Trail was used during the late 1800’s to move cattle from Mexico to markets in the northern plains states.  In five short years, it became one of the most traveled and famous cattle trails in U.S. history. Despite its popularity, traffic along the trail began to decline in 1885.  By the end of the trail in the early 1890’s, an estimated six to seven million cattle and one million horses had traversed the trail.

“Coleman, Texas and Santa Anna and all throughout this part of the area are all part of the Great Western Trail so we are just looking back at our history and trying to find a place for it nowadays,” said Ashlee Miller, Coleman County rancher and organizer of the Longhorn Show.

“There’s lots of color there, lots of horns and lots of kids showing so it should be very fun,” Miller said.  More than 200 entries will attend the Longhorn show from all over Texas.

Events Saturday, April 24, will take place in downtown Coleman around the courthouse, at the Coleman Public Library downtown, at Heritage Hall on West College and at the Goree Expo Center at the Coleman Rodeo Grounds.  See the full schedule of events for Great Western Trail Days and Longhorn Show in the link below.

GWTD-2021-Schedule-of-Events71

You can learn more on the website greatwesterntraildays.com.

Ashlee Miller and daughter Braylin feed a friendly Texas Longhorn on the family ranch in Coleman County.  A Longhorn Show has attracted around 200 entries to the Goree Expo Center at the Coleman Rodeo Grounds.  The show will start at 9:00 am Saturday and run all day.  It will start at 10:00 am on Sunday, just after Cowboy Church at 8:30 am featuring music and gospel message from cowboy singer and preacher, Jeff Gore who also resides in Coleman County.

Lush green grass, Longhorns and new Longhorn babies are shown on ranch property in Coleman County.  Cattle drives up the Great Western Trail will be celebrated this weekend in Coleman at the Great Western Trail Days.