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Cattle, as well as bison, were the some of the most important economic resources in early Texas.

Early Texas
Evidence has been found of paleolithic Native Americans hunting bison in what is now Texas as early as 9200 B.C.E. Bison appear to have been an important staple in Central and South Texas, though evidence of hunting is found throughout the region.

At least since the 1690s Spanish settlers brought cattle, sheep, goats, and horses into Mexico including Texas. By the 1730s missionaries in San Antonio had begun cattle ranching along the river to feed the local population. The gradual decline of the missions led to the growth of private ranchers such as Martín De Léon.

Republic of Texas and the early State of Texas


Following the Texas Revolution in the 1830s farmers from the U.S. arrived in droves. The ready availability of wild longhorns and lush grasslands caused many to turn to raising cattle. Though the majority of the cattle supplied the local population in Texas some cattle continued to be driven to the markets in New Orleans. Additionally during the mid 1800s some were driven on the Shawnee Trail into Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois where they were shipped to markets in the northeastern U.S. The ranching industry was primary concentrated in Southeast and South Texas.

By the 1850s the Morgan shipping lines, which had a monopoly in Texas, was regularly shipping cattle from Galveston to New Orleans and the West Indies. The ranching industry began to develop signicantly in the frontier areas west of Fort Worth. Cattle were becoming a significant revenue stream for the state. Texas was a major beef supplier to the Confederacy during the Civil War. As the Gold Rush brought a flood of settlers to California the Longhorns there were consumed to near extinction. Flush with cash, the new Californians drove up the price of beef and caused herds of cattle to be driven westward from Texas, bringing Texas cowboys and culture with them.

In the mid 1870s the beef industry began to grow rapidly. By the early 1880s it had entered a boom known by many as the "Beef Bonanza". Investors from around the U.S. and even Great Britain rushed to purchase herds and property in Texas. As a result of increasingly crowded pasture land in Texas cattlemen increasingly established herds in western territories ranging from New Mexico and Kansas to Colorado and Montana. The methods and culture of Texas cattle raising came with them.

By 1900 the population of wild bison in Texas had dropped to less than 40 compared to an estimated 30–50 million a century before.

Notable enterprises and people

 * Sam Allen
 * Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera y Garza
 * Antonio Gil Ibarvo
 * Martín De Léon
 * Thomas and Dennis M. O'Connor
 * Richard King
 * Mifflin Kenedy
 * Charles Goodnight
 * William T. Waggoner
 * C. C. Slaughter
 * S. M. Swenson
 * William D. and George T. Reynolds