The Lonergan brother’s cattle thrived on the native prairie grass. Phil and Thomas Lonergan, brothers who had worked on the construction of the railroad, returned to the area with a herd of Texas Longhorns.Īs buffalo began to disappear, a new industry soon emerged. Searle was hired by The Union Pacific Railroad to run the telegraph at Alkali (Paxton), another railroad siding. Army and began operating a supply store for the buffalo hunters in a dug out near the South Platte River. One of the first permanent white settlers to the area was Louis Aufdengarten. To protect the settlers, the United States Army stationed soldiers every few miles usually near the sidings. Indian hostilities erupted across the valley as their way of life became threatened. The Oglala (Oklada) Sioux as it was spelled had lived in the area for many decades.Īs the area began to develop, buffalo hunters soon arrived, decimating herds that had roamed the area for centuries. The siding was named after the Sioux tribe that seasonally hunted in the area. The area that would become a booming cow town in less than ten years was nothing more than a water tower and section house. Ogallala was chosen as a “siding” along the tracks.

Every few miles a stop was required for trains as they made their way across the continent.

In the ten years it staked its claim as the end of the Texas Trail, seventeen violent deaths occurred with a population of less than twenty-five.Īs the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed, the valley that Ogallala now lies in, began to boom with activity. Crime ran rampant along the single street that fronted the community. Seasonal saloon girls and prostitutes flocked to Ogallala. Gold was exchanged across the table and saloons filled to the brim with cowboys and gamblers. Within ten years it grew to be one of the most well known towns along the Texas Trail. Ogallala had its beginning as nothing more than a stop on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Open range ogallala