Welcome to the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum

Step into history at our Texas museum, where the legendary Chisholm Trail comes alive. Explore:

Iconic eighty-foot stone wall – a photographed landmark near Dallas/Fort Worth
Life-size cattle drive silhouettes and authentic tepees showcasing Native American heritage
Free docent-led tours (Thurs-Sun) – perfect for families and history lovers

One of the most unique museums in Texas, just minutes from Arlington. Experience the Old West today!

Establishing Johnson County

This historic site marks Wardville - Johnson County's first county seat (1854) just 9 years after Texas gained statehood. Key highlights:

Oldest log courthouse in Texas (built 1854-1856) still stands here
Originally part of vast Navarro County (stretched from Glen Rose to Corsicana)
Founded when William O'Neal donated 80 acres for the new county
Home to 29 pioneer families near Town Branch Creek

Experience living history at this landmark near Cleburne - where Texas' frontier justice began.

Step Into the Wild Legacy of the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum

Step into history at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum, a one-of-a-kind Texas museum near Cleburne, rich with stories from the Chisholm Trail cattle drive era.

Explore Our Historic Features:

Wardville Cemetery
– Carefully relocated and restored, honoring early Texas pioneers.
Stage Station & Saloon
– Represents Cleburne’s 17 saloons during the heyday of the Chisholm Trail.
Sheriff’s Office & Jail (est. 2010)
– Features original 1855 jail doors from Wardville and 1885 metal cell bars.
Nolan River School (1855–1872)
– Reopened in 2012 to offer immersive 1800s education for museum tours and school programs.
Blacksmith Shop (added in 2009)
– Reflects the essential role of blacksmiths in every 19th-century Texas ranch and town.

Unique Artifacts & Donations:

Original Mule Barn
– Donated by Elizabeth and Bob McWhorter; once served the Johnson Stage Line on the historic route.
300-lb Mile Marker
– Marked “B M 9” to indicate nine miles from Buchanan—an iconic piece in our museum collection.
Restored Stagecoach
– Built for movies and featured in John Wayne Westerns; once took 7 hours from Cleburne to Fort Worth.

Why Visit?

If you're looking for a museum in Texas, a Native American museum, or a museum near Dallas/Fort Worth, our living-history site offers an unforgettable experience. Whether you’re searching for a museum in Arlington TX, a museum around me, or planning a group visit, the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum brings history to life with every step.

Our Mission

Keeping the Past in the Present

The mission of the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum is to preserve the rich heritage of this historic site and advance the "Way It Was" for future generations.

All activities at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum are made possible through the generous financial and in-kind support of individuals like yourself. Your gift will strengthen and support:

Museum educational programs
Museum exhibit updates
Museum collection acquisitions
Oral history programs
Ongoing museum tours and activities

The Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum is an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff, except for the Native American museum. All funding goes directly to:

Museum maintenance
Restoring existing artifacts
Reproducing period structures relevant to the Chisholm Trail and early Texas history

The Last Roundup

A Great Western Epic

During the latter years of the 19th century, the times and the land combined to produce a great Western epic. Soon after the Civil War, major cattle companies seized vast tracts of land and discouraged interlopers by the use of hired gunmen. Visionary Joseph G. McCoy drove his herd to the railhead in Kansas, beginning an era of the Chisholm Trail.

The 19th Century to Now

Millions of animals, men, and women traveled along the Chisholm Trail, which crossed Johnson County, Texas between 1867 and 1889. This legendary trail passed right through what is now the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum, a Texas museum dedicated to preserving this vital part of American history. Visitors will be greeted by the largest silhouette cattle drive in the nation, as they arrive in Cleburne, Texas from the west on Highway 67.

Longhorn Trail

Thousands of Longhorns in the Brazos

The last recorded roundup and cattle drive of Texas Longhorns to market on the Texas section of the Chisholm Trail occurred on November 14, 1914, in far southwestern Johnson County, Texas. As barbed wire continued to be installed along the former open ranges of Johnson County, and freight rates for the railroads began to increase, the dynamics of the cattle drives began to change.

Disruptions to the Trail and Rising Tensions

The rate increases, the closing of the open ranges, and other obstacles began affecting the main trail to Abilene. Many drovers started routing their herds along extra miles to bypass these barriers. Many old timers considered the railroad actions as blackmail, and range wars soon followed, with ranchers cutting barbed wire to assert their rights.

Disgruntled Ranchers Take Action

The hanging tree at Five Oaks, near the Brazos River in southwestern Johnson County, became a meeting place for five disgruntled ranchers who decided to jointly round up their herds and trail them off to market before all the routes were closed off by fences.

Ranch owners John Landers, Lee Cameron, Will Kenser, John Nickell, and Nort Jones, along with their drovers, Clarence Hutcheson, Lonnie Peterson, Chester Jones, Jim Baker, and the Russel boys, rushed their 2,500-head of Texas Longhorns into the cold waters of the Brazos River.

The herd stretched for a mile, and as they made their way up the slope at Bluff Mills, the Klondike Mountains and Hamm's Creek served as a natural barrier to control the herd's direction to Cleburne and onward to market.

The Origin of Johnson County

Established for More Than 165 Years

Johnson County, Texas, named after Texas Confederate Colonel Middleton T. Johnson, was established on February 13, 1854, by the Fifth Legislature. The first permanent settlements in the area began in the mid-1840s, long before the rise of the Chisholm Trail cattle drives that would soon shape the region's history.

Becoming Johnson County

For nine years after Texas gained statehood, the area was part of a larger county. The primary reason for this change was the vast size of the existing county, which spanned over 100 miles, and travel was done by horse and buggy. The law at the time stipulated that a person must be able to travel to and from town by horseback or wagon in a single day. As the population grew, it became clear that a new county would be necessary for efficient governance and accessibility.

Jesse Chisholm

Trader, Guide, and Interpreter

Jesse Chisholm, the namesake of the famous Chisholm Trail, was an Indian trader, guide, and interpreter who blazed a route from Wichita, Kansas, across the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) to the Red River. This trail would later become one of the most iconic routes for cattle drives during the era of the Chisholm Trail.

Chisholm's Contributions to the Trail

Throughout his extensive trading career, Chisholm became fluent in more than ten languages, which made him highly sought after as an interpreter. His ability to communicate with various Native American tribes and other settlers made him a valuable asset, and he set up multiple trading posts along his route.

Although Jesse Chisholm never herded cattle himself, his name became synonymous with the cattle drive route. When Texas cattlemen were seeking a reliable path to transfer their cattle to northern markets, they utilized the very trail Chisholm had established.

Joseph G. McCoy

Capitalizing on the Northern Cattle Boom

In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy, an Illinois livestock dealer, partnered with the Kansas-Pacific Railroad to establish a cattle shipping terminal in Abilene, Kansas, making it one of the first cow towns in America. This marked a pivotal moment in the history of the Chisholm Trail, as McCoy capitalized on the growing demand for cattle in the North.

McCoy's Influence on the Chisholm Trail

McCoy recognized that Texas Longhorns, which could be purchased for just $2 in Texas, were worth nearly ten times that amount in the booming Northern markets. To capitalize on this opportunity, McCoy aggressively advertised in Texas, encouraging cattlemen to drive their herds north along the Chisholm Trail to Abilene.

He was the first to exploit the expanding railroad network to efficiently transport cattle to distant markets. McCoy’s efforts significantly boosted the importance of the Chisholm Trail, as it became the primary route for driving cattle to Abilene and beyond.