This area originally was a stop along the cattle trails from Texas to Kansas and later the Railroads came in and made this a terminus for Cattle, Mules, Horses and Hogs. Around the turn of the Century both Armour and Swift built large meat packing plants on the eastern edge of the stockyards area on some hills overlooking the area. The plants were both abandoned in the early 1970's and most of the buildings have gone to ruin other than the old headquarters and a handful of buildings while the Stockyards itself has grown in a thriving tourist area.