Missouri Life June 2023

Abilene, Wichita, and most especially, Dodge City, that come to mind. But before the cattle were driven to the rowdy towns of Kansas, Sedalia was the destination of the large Texas herds. The trailing distance from Austin, Texas, to Sedalia was roughly 720 miles, and the drive took a crew of 11 or 12 drovers some three months, averaging a dusty, mind-numbing eight miles a day. When they arrived, they found that Sedalia was well up to the task of handling their large herd, and many more besides. A combination of good planning, location, and the arrival of the railroad had made it an ideal destination for the big herds. The land that would become Sedalia was originally the home of the Osage and Shawnee tribes. Then, in 1857, a native Virginian named George Rappeen Smith purchased and platted some 500 acres, calling it Sedville, after his daughter’s nickname, Sed. He offered parcels of his land at $75 a lot, for a town that didn’t exist. And, in fact, although he erected a sawmill in anticipation of a building boom, for nearly three years the land remained much as it had been when it was occu pied by the Indians. Smith, however, was a true visionary; he predicted the coming of the railroad and lobbied hard to make his proph esy a reality. Indeed, due to his efforts, by the end of 1860 the almost-town that had been renamed Sedalia became the terminus of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and shortly

thereafter, headquarters of the Overland Stage Line. By this time, the tracks had been laid, most of the lots sold, and buildings erected. These included a store, post office, and two hotels. As Smith had predicted, the beginning of 1861 saw the first passenger train steaming through Sedalia, carrying not only people but also goods, which were purchased and hauled west by wagon along the Santa Fe Trail. The town burgeoned and soon boasted grocery markets, a blacksmith, saddle and harness shops, druggists, and dry goods and general stores. The Civil War broke out that same year, and given Missouri’s position as one of the so-called Border States during the conflict, Sedalia—and its railroad—became the focus of both Union and Confederate troops. The sympathies of the residents of the city itself, which became the seat of Pettis County in 1864, were divided. As Sedalia historian Becky Imhauser eloquently put it, “The war turned Sedalia’s focus from settling to survival, from building to bushwhackers.” The end of the war saw the addition of a newspaper, the Sedalia Weekly Times , operating in time to note the arrival of the first herds of Texas longhorns. The city built stock yards accordingly, to contain the countless thousands of steers. As the railroad’s cattle cars filled, Sedalia began to reap the benefits of the cattle trade, while the cowboys enjoyed the dubious benefits of the town’s drinking, gam bling, and prostitution establishments.

At left, visitors to Trails End can climb aboard the train and peek inside an authentic bunk room. Cowboys and sometimes the ranchers themselves would ride the trains to keep watch on the cattle. Above, horses await the action at a reenactor encampment in Sedalia. Few cowboys would have enjoyed the comfort of a tent during their trail journey, and many used a “Tucson Bed,” meaning their back was the bed and their belly was their blanket.

45 / JUNE 2023