Joseph McCoy: The Real McCoy

Joseph McCoy was an American entrepreneur who became famous in the 19th century for transporting longhorn cattle from Texas to the states in the eastern US. His reliability and reputation earned him the honor to be called “The Real McCoy” by ranchers in Texas.

The ranchers in Texas faced the difficulty of bringing their longhorn cattle to the buyers in Kansas. At that time, McCoy pledged the ranchers in Texas that he would ship the cattle by rail to Kansas and that the ranchers would still get a good return for stock.

The plan, however, was not easy for McCoy. Some Kansas homesteaders did not want the cattle to cross their land for fear that the tick-bearing longhorns might spread Texas Fever, which is fatal to some cattle specie like the shorthorn.

McCoy talked with railroad operators and presented the huge business opportunity. McCoy himself constructed a bank, an office and a hotel along the Kansas Pacific Railway. Later, the village became known as Abilene.

Being at the end of the Chisholm Trail, its trail ran west of Kansas. Using the Chisholm Trail to drive longhorn cattle to Kansas avoided the hostility of the homesteaders. McCoy’s bright idea brought two million longhorn cattle from Texas to Kansas in four years.