Branding the Brazos: Sculpting the Chisholm Trail

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Frozen in bronze at the foot of the old suspension bridge, a longhorn herd still drives north across the Brazos. This is the Branding the Brazos installation, a striking series of larger-than-life sculptures by Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas. Completed in 2014 after an eight-year project, these figures bring the 19th-century cattle drives to life.

You'll see three riders on horseback and twenty-five life-size bronze cattle, all captured mid-crossing. The installation was commissioned in 2008 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail, turning a riverside park into a living history lesson. As you walk among the herd, imagine the noise and the dust of thousands of cattle crossing the river right where you're standing.

It's a bold reminder of the era when Waco was a vital stop on the road to Kansas.

Updated June 2026