November 2025 • Nebraskaland 23
even before it was a state park. Perhaps
exemplifying how loose things were in
the past, a Hereford-bison cross named
Levi made the news in 1980 as it grazed
with Fort Robinson's longhorns.
How the pure-bred herd came to Fort
Robinson can be traced back to eff orts
to preserve the species as it was facing
extinction in the early 20th century.
In the 1920s, the federal government
identifi ed 30 purebred longhorns and
set them aside at Wichita Mountains
National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.
In 1936, a portion of that herd was
taken to Fort Niobrara National
Wildlife Refuge near Valentine where
the attractive bovines were managed
for purity. They grazed there for the
remainder of the century.
In 2000, the refuge determined the
non-native longhorns were not in line
with its mission, unlike the native
bison that roam there today, and
were evicted. After some uncertainty
about the herd's future, Fort Robinson
arranged to take in the Fort Niobrara
cattle to add to the park's attractions
and serve as a fi tting tribute to its
Western heritage. To make way for
the purebreds, the park's existing 100
cattle were sold and moved off the
property.
How the 160 of the original
longhorns arrived to Fort Robinson
from Fort Niobrara was fi tting for a
park that prides itself on its rich history
of horsemanship as a cavalry post.
Lemmon was 12 and remembers
accompanying Fort Robinson's
superintendent at the time, who was
his father Jim, and others on a 180-
mile cattle drive from Valentine to Fort
Robinson during a spell of bitterly cold
weather.
"The people of Valentine were
pretty nice. They rounded up a bunch
of trailers and stuff to haul them here
for us," Rob Lemmon said. "My dad
decided that wasn't the way Texas
longhorns should be moved. So, in
November, we drove them. I think it
took us nine days to get from Valentine
ABOVE: Fort Robinson State Park employees and volunteers move longhorn cattle
down Soldier Creek Road in 2018.
BELOW LEFT: As winter gives way to spring, a new arrival to the herd receives a
meal from its mother.
