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38-713: Born in Rush Springs, Oklahoma and raised in Texas , Knox served eight years in the Texas National Guard and attended Abilene Christian College, now Abilene Christian University , and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. He also began what would become a long career as a freelance writer and columnist; he started as a reporter for the Vernon Daily Record before he moved on to

76-667: A pathway established by Black Beaver in 1861, and a wagon road established by Jesse Chisholm around 1864. "The Chisholm Wagon Road went from Chisholm's trading post on the South Canadian (north of Fort Arbuckle to the Cimarron River crossing, to the Arkansas River at the future site of Wichita where Chisholm had another trading post and on north to Abilene ," according to the Kraisingers. By 1869,

114-526: A state. At that time, new county jurisdictions were set up, and Rush Springs was located in Grady County, Oklahoma . During the Great Depression, a Civilian Conservation Corps project was initiated on the east side of Rush Springs to provide employment and improve the region. Young men were paid to construct terraces and ponds and to restore vegetation by replanting trees. The project camp

152-583: A village about 1850 near some springs on Rush Creek. (The present-day town of Rush Springs later developed about 4 miles (6 km) northwest of here.) Cattlemen watered their herds of cattle they were driving north from Texas to Kansas on the Chisholm Trail , which passed east of here. On October 1, 1858, an event known as the Battle of the Wichita Village occurred near here, with spillover to

190-477: Is a town in Grady County , Oklahoma , United States. The population was 997 at the 2020 census , a 19% decrease from 2010. The town promotes itself as the "Watermelon Capital of the World." The community's largest event is the annual Rush Springs Watermelon Festival, which attracts about 30,000 people each year. They consume about 50,000 pounds of watermelon during this event. The Wichita people established

228-495: The Times Record News in Wichita Falls. As an independent writer, Knox sold several articles to gun magazines including Guns & Ammo and Guns magazine between 1964 and 1966. He formally entered the firearms journalism trade in 1966, when he became the founding editor of Gun Week , a weekly newspaper covering firearms issues of the day. The paper gave in-depth coverage to the bill that would eventually become

266-659: The Great Western Cattle Trail instead of the Chisholm Trail. In Texas, hundreds of feeder trails headed north to one of the main cattle trails. In the early 1840s, most cattle were driven up the Shawnee Trail . The Chisholm Trail was previously used by Indian hunting and raiding parties; the trail crossed into Indian Territory (present-day west-central Oklahoma ) near Red River Station and entered Kansas near Caldwell . Through Oklahoma,

304-602: The Gun Control Act of 1968 . Knox left Gun Week in 1968, when he moved to Wolfe Publishing/as editor of Handloader Magazine and founding editor of Rifle Magazine . In 1978, Knox moved to Washington, D.C. in order to lobby against gun control measures and work for the National Rifle Association. He served four years as the executive director of the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA),

342-614: The North and East . Lack of market access during the Civil War had produced an overstock of cattle in Texas. In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy built stockyards in Abilene, Kansas. He encouraged Texas cattlemen to drive their herds to his stockyards. O. W. Wheeler answered McCoy's call, and he along with partners used the Chisholm Trail to bring a herd of 2,400 head from Texas to Abilene. This herd

380-542: The Chisholm Trail, including: The Chisholm Trail is roughly traced by U.S. Route 81 through Oklahoma, and that state has multiple museums and sites paying respect to the trail. The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, Oklahoma has educational and interactive exhibits, a large monument depicting a scene from a Chisholm Trail cattle drive, and a trail walkway. Trail Ruts at Monument Hill just outside of Duncan has visible traces of cattle hoofs and wagons actually left on

418-555: The Chisholm Trail. Margaret Borland took her family, hired hands, and 2,500 Longhorns through the trail in 1873 in search of profit for her cattle, which was worth triple in Kansas over Texas prices. She died from what was called trail fever just after arriving in Wichita, after an otherwise successful journey. The cattle drives have been a popular topic among Western genre movies. At least 27 movies have portrayed fictional accounts of

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456-577: The Comanche, who were camped on Rush Creek near a Wichita village. The Army was apparently unaware that the two tribes were conducting a peace conference. Van Dorn and his men attacked the Comanche camp about dawn on October 1, 1858, catching the warriors completely off guard. In the aftermath of the attack, the troops found that the Comanche had lost seventy people, mostly men but also some tribeswomen who had accompanied them. Any survivors had fled. The army casualties were four men dead and one missing, who

494-739: The M-K-T or Katy) had been completed to the Choctaw Nation community of Caddo . Supplies were transferred here to wagons to transport them to Rush Springs. Freight and stage travel from Caddo to Rush Springs was discontinued about 1885. The first post office was designated as Parr, and opened at the Samuel M. Huntley ranch house in July 1883. The house was southeast of Rush Springs. When the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway (usually called simply

532-466: The NRA five years later in 1982. Over the ensuing decade, Knox used his own columns in magazines popular with NRA members like Shotgun News and Guns & Ammo to get himself and up to 10 allies elected to the NRA board in 1991. In 1997, a narrowly-divided NRA Board voted Knox out of the succession line for president of the NRA, replacing him with Charlton Heston , who was subsequently elected president of

570-527: The Rock Island) completed its line through Rush Springs in July 1892, the post office relocated into the town and was renamed for it. 2 square miles (5.2 km ) of town was surveyed and platted. It was incorporated on November 21, 1898. At that time, the community was located within Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation . By 1900 the community had 518 residents and 588 by 1907, when Oklahoma became

608-706: The Wichita when the US Army destroyed their crops. That year, Brigadier General David S. Briggs had ordered Brevet Major Earl Van Dorn to take command of the Second Cavalry at Fort Belknap, Texas . He was directed to proceed north of the Red River into Indian Territory and forcibly restrain belligerent Comanche warriors who were raiding settlements. Van Dorn and his men stopped at Camp Radziminski in Indian Territory. Van Dorn and his men advanced on

646-421: The age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.01. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under

684-460: The age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 21,078, and the median income for a family was $ 25,391. Males had a median income of $ 24,453 versus $ 20,769 for females. The per capita income for

722-429: The cattle would be sold and shipped eastward. The trail is named for Jesse Chisholm, a multiracial trader from Tennessee of Cherokee and Scottish descent. Together with scout Black Beaver, he developed the trail to transport his goods from one trading post to another. The two men were the first to drive cattle north along this route. By 1853, Texas cattle were being driven into Missouri . Local farmers began blocking

760-482: The cowboys and drovers encountered rustlers and occasional conflicts with Native Americans. The cattle drives disrupted the hunting and cultivation of crops in Indian Territory. Tribal members demanded that the trail bosses pay a toll of 10 cents per head to local tribes for the right to cross Indian lands (Oklahoma at that time was Indian Territory, governed from Fort Smith, Arkansas ). The only woman known to run her own cattle drive traveled from Texas to Wichita using

798-529: The end of the trail was at Caldwell . On the long trips—up to two months—the cattlemen faced many difficulties. They had to cross major rivers such as the Arkansas and the Red and innumerable smaller creeks, as well as handle the topographic challenges of canyons , badlands and low mountain ranges. The major drives typically needed to start in the spring after the rains stimulated the growth of green grasses for

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836-595: The entire trail from Texas to Kansas became known as the Chisholm Trail. Texas ranchers using the Chisholm Trail had their cowboys start cattle drives from either the Rio Grande area or San Antonio . They joined the Chisholm Trail at the Red River, at the border between Texas and Oklahoma Territory . They continued north to the rail head of the Kansas Pacific Railway in Abilene, Kansas , where

874-457: The first drive along the Chisholm Trail, including The Texans (1938), directed by James P. Hogan and starring Randolph Scott and Joan Bennett ; and Red River (1948), directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift . Walter Brennan co-starred in both films. The trail is the subject of at least two pop songs: " The Last Cowboy Song ," written and recorded by Ed Bruce , also performed by The Highwaymen ; and

912-407: The grazing cattle. The spring drives, with those rains and higher water levels with the runoff, always meant more danger at the river crossings, which had no bridges. The half-wild Texas Longhorn cattle were contrary and prone to stampede with little provocation. The days of longest sunlight, near mid-June, were also an important consideration in the timing of drives. In addition to natural dangers,

950-664: The herds and turning them back because the Texas Longhorns carried ticks that caused diseases in other species of cattle. Violence, vigilante groups, and cattle rustling caused further problems for the drovers . By 1859, the driving of cattle was outlawed in many Missouri jurisdictions. By the end of the Civil War, most cattle were being moved up the western branch of trail, being gathered at Red River Station in Montague County, Texas . In 1866, cattle in Texas were worth $ 4 per head, compared to over $ 40 per head in

988-628: The lobbying arm of the NRA. At the ILA, Knox was instrumental in convincing friendly lawmakers to introduce a reform of the 1968 Act. The bill became the Firearm Owners Protection Act , which eventually passed in 1986. From 1984 to his death, Knox was the chairman of the Firearms Coalition, an organization that he created, which lobbies against restrictive gun laws. One of the recurring themes throughout Knox's career

1026-612: The organization. Knox died in 2005, aged 69, after a year-long struggle with colon cancer . His son, Jeff Knox, continues the Knox Report column, which is published in Shotgun News (now rebranded as Firearms News ) and elsewhere. Another son, Chris Knox, has compiled and edited a collection of his writing, Neal Knox: The Gun Rights War . This Oklahoma -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rush Springs, Oklahoma Rush Springs

1064-461: The route of U.S. Highway 81 follows the Chisholm Trail through present-day towns of El Reno , Duncan , Chickasha, and Enid . Historians consider the Chisholm Trail to have started either at Donna or San Antonio. From 1867 to 1871, the trail ended in Abilene, Kansas, but as railroads incrementally built southward, the end of the trail moved to other cities. The end of the trail moved to Newton and soon afterward to Wichita . From 1883 to 1887,

1102-573: The song " The Old Chisholm Trail ." Among those who have covered the song are Gene Autry , Girls of the Golden West , Woody Guthrie , Michael Martin Murphey , Tex Ritter , and Roy Rogers . Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter) also covered this song, although his version was titled "When I Was A Cowboy". Nova Scotia-born Wilf Carter recorded a version of the song, titled, "Come A Ty-ya Yippie Yi Yo". Many schools in this region have been named after

1140-461: The town was $ 10,803. About 24.7% of families and 32.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 45.3% of those under age 18 and 24.6% of those age 65 or over. Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( /ˈt͡ʃɪzəm/ CHIZ -əm ) was a trail used in the post- Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, crossed the Red River into Indian Territory , and ended at Kansas rail stops. The trail encompassed

1178-441: The town. The population density was 1,201.7 inhabitants per square mile (464.0/km ). There were 627 housing units at an average density of 589.6 per square mile (227.6/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 88.18% White , 6.96% Native American , 1.17% from other races , and 3.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.35% of the population. There were 525 households, out of which 32.6% had children under

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1216-560: The trail is located in the downtown area. Lockhart, Texas , in Caldwell County , holds a four-day festival on the second weekend of June, to celebrate its place on the Chisholm Trail. Newton, Kansas holds a three- to four-day Chisholm Trail Festival , combining it with the annual Fourth of July celebration. In 2014, the North Texas Tollway Authority constructed a 26-mile-long toll road named after

1254-678: The trail, the Chisholm Trail Parkway . It connects downtown Fort Worth to the nearby city of Cleburne in Johnson County . In 2017, the Texas Historical Commission released The Chisholm Trail: Exploring the Folklore and Legacy , an online tour and mobile app. The tour includes audio tracks and short videos that retell the history of communities and local heritage in towns and cities that line

1292-618: The trail. Kingfisher, Oklahoma , has a life-size statue of Jesse Chisholm in the middle of downtown, as well as the Chisholm Trail Museum and Governor Seay Mansion which gives a clear timeline of the trail. Yukon, Oklahoma , has the Chisholm Trail Watering Hole and historic marker, while Jesse Chisholm's gravesite is a bit further north outside Geary, Oklahoma . A mural in Enid, Oklahoma depicting

1330-514: Was his uncompromising stance on gun laws and the 2nd Amendment , which he believed recognizes a pre-existing human right to self-defense. His views would lead him into many confrontations with other members of the NRA leadership and Congressional leadership. Knox publicly accused many NRA leaders of being too moderate. In 1977, Knox was among the hardliners who took control of the NRA during the Revolt at Cincinnati . The same hardliners fired Knox from

1368-568: Was opened June 18, 1933, and closed July 20, 1942. Rush Springs is located in southern Grady County. U.S. Route 81 passes through the town, leading north 19 miles (31 km) to Chickasha , the county seat , and south 20 miles (32 km) to Duncan . According to the United States Census Bureau , Rush Springs has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.7 km ), all land. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,278 people, 525 households, and 349 families residing in

1406-457: Was presumed killed. Major Van Dorn was seriously wounded, but survived to fight again. The army was reported to have set fire to the Wichita fields nearby, destroying their food crop and endangering their survival. The Wichita fled to Fort Arbuckle to seek assistance from the U.S. government. In 1871, supplies bound for Fort Sill (which had been founded in 1869), were brought through Rush Springs. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway (also known as

1444-587: Was the first of an estimated 5,000,000 head of Texas cattle to reach Kansas over the Chisholm Trail. McCoy's stockyards shipped 35,000 head in 1867 and became the largest stockyards west of Kansas City, Kansas. The construction of the Union Pacific Railway through Nebraska eventually offered a cattle drive destination that was an attractive alternative to the Kansas Pacific Railroad . Between 1876 and 1884 some drives went along

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