Chisholm Trail Woven Patch

The Chisholm TrailOn the second weekend of June every year, Lockhart celebrates its position on the historic Chisholm Trail by holding a four-day festival. Although Lockhart and Caldwell County have changed a good deal in the century since the cattle drives, the festival's horseshoe pitch, fiddling contest, barbeque cook-off, and Kiwanis Rodeo bring to mind the days when men gathered herds from all over South Texas and drove them north.After the Civil War, veterans returned to their homes in Texas only to face economic hardship fueled by a devastating drought. The hard scabble soil of Caldwell County could not support the lush crops of East Texas, but where vegetables wouldn't flourish, cattle would. The country's abundance of fresh water and grass afforded an excellent range for cattle. This plethora of beef cattle, coupled with the need for meat in the Northern states, inspired ranchers to look into this ready market.The lack of railroads proved the only obstacle to access to norther