Texas Cattle Dipping Vat (Historic Site #10)

Salado has one of the last Cattle Dipping Vats in Texas. The need for dipping vats arose from cattle dying from protozoa (ticks) carried on the backs of longhorns that swam the Rio Grande from Mexico.  In 1888, the cause of “Texas Fever” was discovered. In 1889, a solution to dip cattle in a lime/sulfur mixture was discovered.  In 1892, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture stopped the shipment of cattle from Texas. This devastated the cattle industry. To combat the ticks, vats were built that were 30 ft. long, 2.5 ft. wide and 7 ft. deep. Beaumont Crude was put in the vats until a refined mixture of arsenic. soda and pine tar was developed and used until 1980. Many vats were destroyed by people opposed to dipping cattle.  (SHSL)