On this date in 1867, legendary Texas cattle rancher and trail
blazer Oliver Loving died of gangrene at Fort Sumner, New
Mexico. The Kentucky native moved to Texas in 1843. Loving
eventually relocated to what’s now Palo Pinto County, making his
living ranching and running a country store near Keechi Creek.
During the American Civil War, Loving was commissioned to supply
beef to Confederate forces. When the war ended, the Confederate
government owed Loving as much as $250,000. An oversupplied
cattle market made it difficult for Loving to get rid of his
herd. Then, Loving heard about the favorable prospects of
selling his cattle to the army at Fort Sumner. So Oliver Loving
and fellow rancher Charles Goodnight gathered a heard and set
out toward the fort. Although the route had been used by many
cattle drivers before them, their route later became known as
the Goodnight-Loving Trail. Loving and Goodnight’s long trip
paid off — about $12,000 in gold. In the spring of 1867, the two
partners returned to Texas, read