Texas Gate

Texas gate, south of Fort Walsh.

Ron Volden (Therese Lefebvre Prince)

A “Texas Gate” refers to a grid which prevents cattle and horses from entry while allowing the driver of a vehicle to pass through without having to open gates. The term is not to be found in many dictionaries or encyclopedias; it appears to have originated with the northern migration of cattle - the great cattle drives from Texas in the late 1870s - and is in common usage in the northern American western states and the Canadian west. In Texas, these gates are called “cattle guards.” In the SARM 1997 Resolution No. 15, both terms are used and “Texas” is spelled with a lower case “t”: “Whereas, many individuals and oil companies install cattle guards, commonly known as texas gates, on road allowances without approval from council.”

Therese Lefebvre Prince