Joseph McCoy turned Abilene into a new transit port for cattle drives, which made him very rich.

McCoy purchased land and built huge stockyards in which to hold cattle. He negotiated with the Kansas Pacific Railroad and built a depot right next to the railroad track, where cattle could be loaded onto trains. He also built a hotel to house the cowboys and clearly mapped out the Chisholm Trail they used for the cattle drives.

McCoy advertised the facilities he had created and sent guides to bring cowboys safely along the trail.

McCoy became very wealthy. He managed to get 35,000 cattle driven along the Chisholm Trail by the end of 1867. Another 3 million had followed by 1872. His success led to Abilene being the first 'cow-town'.