Ellsworth ? A bit of the Old West will return to Ellsworth this weekend, when about 50 greenhorns drive 64 head of trophy longhorns through the town.

That will cap the Great American Cattle Drive – three days of festivities planned to raise money to restore the town’s historic insurance building and begin efforts to build a National Drovers Hall of Fame.

The greenhorns paid $1,000 each to retrace a route traveled by drovers – cowboys who herded millions of longhorns from Texas to northern markets – from 1868 to 1878. Ellsworth was a major stopping point for the drovers.

Riders on the drive include country singer Michael Martin Murphey, who will perform at campsites and in concert Saturday night in Ellsworth, said Mark Roehrman, chairman of the hall of fame.

“We have riders now who are coming from California to Rhode Island,” Roehrman said. “We’re taking advantage of what our history is, what our heritage is.”

The cattle drive will begin Thursday about 26 miles from Ellsworth and end Saturday afternoon when the cowboys herd the cattle down Ellsworth’s Main Street.

Chuck wagon dinners and cowboy concerts also will be offered during the festival. A full day of activities is planned Saturday, including an 1870s cow camp with more than 50 re-enactors and a drovers saloon in the town’s old underground business district, as well as games, music and food.

Downtown business owners are expecting large crowds.

“I’m hoping so,” said Tammy Krause, owner of Oxhide Arrangements, a western decor store. “It’s going to be nice to see history again.”