An anonymous cowboy on a horse in Custer County, Nebraska, circa 1870-1880.
When I was doing genealogy on my family, I found that Joseph Price Akridge, my grandmother’s uncle, was said to have ridden from Blue Ridge, Texas, near McKinney, to Chattooga County, Georgia, with his nephew Joe Allen. They shot Jefferson Johnson and his carriage driver, then came home. Joseph held Jefferson responsible for killing Levi, Joseph’s brother, although someone else pulled the trigger.
Since it is two hard days of driving in a modern automobile from Blue Ridge to Chattooga County, I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to ride that far on horseback. However, they could have ridden to the train depot in McKinney or Dallas and ridden on the railroad to the nearest train depot in the area near Chattooga County, then ridden on horseback to find Jefferson Johnson. Joseph Price Akridge was rich, but it would still have been quite expensive to pay for himself, his nephew, and two horses. Here is what we know about taking a horse on the train.
Cowboys, Horses, and the True Price of the 1880s Railroad Journey
Traveling long distances with your horse in the 1880s meant a venture filled with grit, planning, and a striking expense—even for a wealthy Texan like Joseph Price Akridge. Horses were not passengers. They traveled as cargo in rough, noisy stock cars, tended by railroad workers at stops, while their owners rode in separate, sometimes uncomfortable coach or bench cars. The cost for such a journey was no trivial matter: by the standards of 2025, moving just one person and a horse 500 miles by rail cost about $388—and that didn’t account for traveling companions or the challenges of making connections across the South. A good horse itself cost $4,700–$6,300 in today’s money, making travel with one a major investment rather than a simple adventure.
The Experience: From Texas to Georgia—Rails Over Saddles
In the late 19th century, the push westward—and eastward returns—was powered not by endless riding but by the iron horse: the railroad. Cowboys, outlaws, settlers, and others would ride on horseback to the nearest depot (in this case, McKinney or Dallas), then load horse and self for a multi-day rail journey spanning hundreds of miles.
Boarding the Train
Rail companies provided stock cars—wooden freight cars, often with little padding, where horses stood through clattering, dusty rides. Horses were given feed and water by railroad workers at stops, but owners rode separately in the main passenger coaches. Unlike the romantic image of cowboy and horse journeying side by side, the reality was a noisy, often stressful ride for the animal, out of sight and hands of its master until the journey’s end.
The Financial Outlay
- Ticket for the owner: About 2 cents per mile in the 1880s; 500 miles would cost $10, which is roughly $316 in 2025 dollars.
- Shipping a horse: About 0.91 cents per ton per mile for livestock freight; a 1,000-lb horse traveled 500 miles for about $2.28—or $72 today.
- Multiple travelers & horses: For Joseph and his nephew, with two horses, the total outlay for 500 miles would be about $776, not including food, lodging, or incidental expenses for a journey likely much longer, perhaps exceeding 800–1,000 miles one way.
Why Take the Train?
The alternative—riding hundreds of miles overland—would be grueling, slow, and risk physical toll on both man and animal. A posse would have been able to follow two riders on horseback much more easily than following them by rail. For those who could afford it, rail offered the only practical means of quickly traveling long distances with horses across regions from Texas to Georgia when swift travel was essential.
Then vs. Now: The Rail Journey in Perspective
Consider the challenge in today’s terms: the drive from Blue Ridge, TX, to Chattooga County, GA, is about 820 miles—roughly 13 hours of continuous driving, closer to two days when factoring in rest, food, and overnight stops. In the 1880s, such a journey on horseback would be daunting, but the rails shrank the continent for those with the means to afford it.
- Modern parallel: Today, bringing your “ride” (your car) on a train, such as Amtrak’s Auto Train route, costs a traveler $350–$750 (including car and coach seat, 2025 prices), similar to what it cost a cowboy and his horse—adjusted for inflation—to cross half the country by rail over a century ago.
The Grit, Cost, and Decisions of a Cowboy’s Journey
Even Joe Akridge took two months to plan his vengeance for his brother’s death by riding on the railroad. Levi died in March and Jefferson died in May. For Joseph Price Akridge, the decision to bring horses by rail was both practical and personal—he wanted to kill Jefferson Johnson and get away with the murder. Practically speaking, Joe Akridge did get away with murder. Of course, he met death himself when he tried to kill my grandfather and lost, but that is another tale for another time.
