How The Railroads Changed Ranching As We Know It

As railroads expand across the state, economic growth flourishes. West Texas cattle and East Texas lumber could travel across the state at unprecedented speeds, and the influx of people into the growing cities brought significant economic growth. After the civil war, wild-caught longhorn cattle prices rose six times, and the cotton produced went from 350 thousand bales to 3.5 million bales. Thanks to the railroad and expanding cities, the state grew substantially.