Experience Oklahoma City’s first industry
STockyards City Tour
Cowboy culture persists just 10 minutes from glassy towers downtown. Visit the world’s largest stocker and feeder cattle market, devour juicy steaks and shop for cowboy hats, Native jewelry and Western-themed home decor.
Stockyards City is a working neighborhood and one that welcomes tourists. Cattle trailers rattle along Exchange Avenue while tour buses pull up to a legendary steakhouse for slow-aged cuts of beef. If you’ve never tried “calf fries” now’s the time. Order this regional delicacy at Cattleman’s Steakhouse, the oldest restaurant in OKC.
Feel the rush of excitement at a live cattle auction on Monday and Tuesday. Visiting is free but getting here isn’t obvious. Limited availability tours can be booked here.
We plan to launch neighborhood tours by the spring of 2025 in collaboration with the Oklahoma National Stockyards and Stockyards City Main Street. In the meantime, enjoy the activities below on your own.
Things to do in Stockyards city
See a live cattle auction on Mon or Tue
Take a selfie with the historic stockyards gateway adorned with longhorn steer over Exchange Avenue
Dig into beef at old school Cattlemen’s Steakhouse or McClintock Saloon & Chop House, a newer restaurant with great happy hour deals and 200 whiskeys
Shop the look!
custom cowboy hats at Shorty’s Hattery
boots and denim at Langston’s Western Wear
saddles, reins, equine supplies and cow skulls at National Saddlery
authentic and handmade rings, bracelets and pottery at Oklahoma Native Art & Jewelry
Quench thirst at Stockyards Sarsaparilla with unique bottled sodas. Find traditional root beer alongside flavors for bacon, pickles, sweet corn and ranch dressing. There’s homemade fudge and vintage candies too.
Watch an arthouse film at Rodeo Cinema that began as a silent movie and vaudeville stage 100 years ago. See what’s playing here.
Why does OKC have an area called the Stockyards?
Cattle is Oklahoma City’s original industry, founded two decades before oil production dominated the local economy.
Thanks to economic incentives from the chamber of commerce, two meatpacking plants opened here in 1910-11 and jumpstarted OKC’s economy. Originally called Packingtown, this area southwest of downtown and across the river is now known as Stockyards City because the packing plants closed and were demolished. The stockyards, however, are still active.
What’s the history of Stockyards City in OKC?
The open prairie lacked an economic driver because OKC was founded by land run settlers — not industrial activity. City leaders needed to attract a major industrial player to grow their economic base.
The chamber of commerce’s 1908 campaign to lure meatpackers paid quick dividends when Morris & Company of Chicago opened the nation’s largest and most modern meatpacking plant here in October 1910.
Morris became the city’s biggest employer — almost 10% of the work force! — and also organized the Oklahoma National Stockyards Company as a place to buy and sell livestock based on market prices.
Soon after, Schwarzschild & Sulzberger of Kansas City secured a similar cash bonus and development incentives from the chamber of commerce to open a packing plant.
The local meatpacking industry was strong through the 50s until Morris (acquired by Armour and Co.) closed in 1960. S&S facilities were upgraded in the 60s by Wilson & Co. but shuttered in 1992.
Although these giant packing plants that helped feed the nation are long gone, Morris’ side business of a stockyards cattle market still operates almost 115 years later.
Learn more history and see vintage photos on our Stockyards City Tour coming in 2025!
Who owns OKC Stockyards?
Oklahoma National Stockyards Company owns the stockyards facilities and cattle pens. Nine commission firms work with cattlemen to care for and sell their livestock at auction here. These commission firms are generational family businesses.