Bandera, "Cowboy Capital of the World"

The tradition of the Texas cowboy originated from northern Mexico with the vaqueros, individuals mounted on horseback who herded livestock, mainly cattle, through the open prairie. These men became legends in Bandera County. The City of Bandera became known as a cowboy town for recreation and obtaining supplies. Boys learned how to ride horses and drive cattle at a young age to earn wages on the ranches. The Western Cattle Trail extended from Mexico through Texas and up to the Canadian border and from 1874 to 1894, it is estimated that thirty thousand cowboys drove seven to ten million longhorns and one million horses through the trail using Bandera as a staging area. Local rodeos began in the 1920s when cowboys who worked the ranches started exhibiting their skills during roundups and on cattle drives. Bandera had its first rodeo in 1924 at Mansfield Park, where rodeos have continued through the years. The Buck and the Bruce ranches took in summer guests holding rodeos as entertainment. Others that followed were the Dixie Dude, Bennie's U-Bar, and the Twin Elm ranches. Bandera cowboys became famous by earning world champion titles and being inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1938, Toots Mansfield was Bandera's first world champion in calf roping, earning this title on six additional occasions. He later became the first president of the National Rodeo Cowboy Association which was organized in 1945. In 1948, a San Antonio newspaper referenced Bandera as the "Cowboy Capital of the World." Since then, this title has been mentioned in numerous newspapers and magazines throughout the world. (2013)