History of Pioneer Plaza

From the 1840's until right after the Civil War, cattle, mostly longhorn from south Texas ranches, were driven along the Shawnee Trail to northern markets in St. Joseph and St. Louis, Missouri. The Shawnee was the first trail of its kind in Texas and marked the beginning of an era that would make cattle the number one agricultural product in the Texas economy. The Shawnee Trail crossed near the site of Pioneer Plaza and proceeded up the Preston Trail (now Preston Road) to the Red River then turning northeast to Missouri. By the late 1850's, an epidemic of tick fever slowed the northern progression of livestock. With the coming of the Civil War, cattle drives were diverted to southern markets but with the capture of New Orleans and Union control of the lower Mississippi River, the long cattle drives ceased. By the time the war ended in 1865, the railheads in St. Joseph and St. Louis had been extended to Kansas City, Abilene and Dodge City, Kansas. The Chisholm Trail, through Fort Worth, was a more direct route to northern markets.

Pioneer Plaza commemorates Dallas’ beginnings by celebrating the trails that brought settlers to Dallas. The site features native plants and trees, a flowing stream, a waterfall and a re-creation of a longhorn cattle drive in bronze with longhorn steers being driven by three cowboys on horses. The largest bronze monument in the world and the largest contiguous open space in downtown Dallas, Pioneer Plaza takes up 4.2 acres of land that was once a parking lot.

Cattle trailing was the principal method of getting cattle to market in the late nineteenth century. It provided Texans with a practical, economical means of marketing surplus livestock. As common trails developed, many cities evolved along these trails. The trail that led to the development of Dallas was the Shawnee Trail.

In 1991, local businessman and philanthropist, Trammell Crow, envisioned a public open space that would celebrate the roots of Dallas and honor the Texas Cattle Industry. Joined by Donald Carter, another Dallas visionary, the two men provided principle funding to the project. The site, formerly a parking lot, with the cooperation of the city of Dallas Convention Center and financial support from many individuals and area businesses, ground was broken on the site in 1992 and in October 1995, Pioneer Plaza was dedicated to the citizens of Dallas.

Shawnee Trail

Of the routes by which Texas longhorn cattle were driven to northern railheads in Missouri the earliest and easternmost was the Shawnee Trail. Used before and just after the Civil War, the Shawnee Trail gathered cattle from east and west of its main stem and passed through Austin, Waco, and Dallas. The trail marked the beginning of an era that would make cattle the number one agricultural product in the Texas economy. The trail crossed near Pioneer Plaza and proceeded up the Preston Trail (now Preston Road), crossed the Red River at Rock Bluff the turned northeast to Missouri. Why some began calling it the Shawnee Trail is uncertain, but the name may have been suggested by a Shawnee village on the Texas side of the Red River just below the trail crossing or by the Shawnee Hills, which the route skirted on the eastern side.

Texas herds were taken up the Shawnee Trail as early as the 1840s, and use of the route gradually increased. But by 1853 as 3,000 cattle were trailed through western Missouri, local farmers blocked their passage and forced the drovers to turn back. This opposition arose from the fact that the longhorns carried ticks that bore a serious disease called "Texas fever." During the Civil War the Shawnee Trail was virtually unused because outbreaks of "Texas fever" caused both Missouri and Kansas legislatures to quarantine their states against "southern cattle." By the time the war ended in 1865, the railhead in St. Joseph and St. Louis had been extended to Kansas City, Abilene and Dodge City, Kansas. The Chisholm Trail, through Fort Worth, became a more direct route to northern markets. Texas cattlemen also realized the need for a new trail that would skirt the farm settlements and avoid the trouble over "Texas fever." The new route to the west, the Chisholm Trail, soon began carrying the bulk of the Texas herds, leaving the Shawnee Trail to dwindle for a few years and expire. Texas cattlemen increasingly shifted to railroads to transport their animals to market.