19th-century route for cattle drives from Texas to Kansas, probably named for the trader Jesse Chisholm (1806?–1868?).
The trail ran from south of San Antonio, across Oklahoma to Abilene, Kan., where a railhead was established in 1867. Between 1867 and 1871 1.5 million head of cattle were driven north over the trail to be shipped to markets in the East. After the 1880s the trail's importance declined as other railheads were established.