Just north of Terry was the final outpost for the XIT Ranch out of Texas, during the remaining years of the open range. Apr 19, 2018 - Explore richard granado's board "XIT Ranch" on Pinterest. “XIT Ranch,” The land the XIT was established on was sold In turn, Schnell transferred three-fourths interest to Taylor, Babcock, and Company of Chicago, which organized the Capitol Syndicate, in which Charles B. Farwell, John V. Farwell, Col. Amos C. Babcock, and Col. Abner Taylor of Illinois were leading investors. cowboys, was organized into seven divisions The XIT Ranch eventually grazed cattle as north as Montana. Pauline D. and R. L. Robertson, Cowman's Country: Fifty Frontier Ranches in the Texas Panhandle, 1876–1887 (Amarillo: Paramount, 1981). by the state of Texas to the Chicago-based Capitol XIT RANCH in Custer is a company that specializes in Forestry Services. / Considered the largest cattle ranch in the world, the XIT also leased land in the Dakotas and in Montana. Babcock went to Texas to conduct a survey of the property. XIT Reunion. All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. As a result it became the center of ranch activities, and the main XIT headquarters, containing twenty-two rooms, was established there. More Information; Post & News. During Campbell's tenure as general manager, contracts for water wells were made with drillers, fencing projects were continued, and the first ranch house was built in 1886. They were well-contained within the 1500 miles of fence. Nordyke, Lewis. producing profitable & functional genetics for commercial cattlemen since 1981. 4310 N HIGHWAY 47 Custer, Montana, 59024 . The XIT Ranch was a real ranch in a real part of Texas with real cowboys managing it. XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana - Kindle edition by Miller, Michael M.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Judd Ranch. The first 22,000 cattle arrived from That land became the XIT Ranch, briefly one of the most productive cattle operations in the West. which meant the Syndicate Company paid Ruck Tanner, foreman of the Rita Blanca division, was elected Hartley County's first judge. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law. The For convenience the ranch was cut into the southern areas reserved for cattle and steer raising, which gradually transition northward until the cattle are two years old and ready to be driven. Syndicate Company in 1882. Free Wifi . Its central Montana location is 80 miles northeast of Great Falls and adjacent to the town of Big Sandy. Cross fences divided the ranch into ninety-four pastures, and 1,500 miles of fencing had been completed. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. While the state capitol had cost more than $3,000,000 instead of the original projection of $1,500,000, the cost of the land being sold was increased, and the corporation fulfilled its contract. Enlightened utilization and conservation of natural resources and superior economic returns are the primary bench marks of accomplishments. Watch Now. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana. Dalhart. Considered the Upper Canyon Outfitters & Guest Ranch. Memoirs of former XIT employees, including James D. Hamlin, Cordelia Sloan Duke, and Charles E. MacConnell, known locally as "XIT Buck," have also been published. View deals for XIT Ranch Motel, including fully refundable rates with free cancellation. The XIT Ranch of Texas and the Early Days History of the XIT Ranch. Edited to add: While researching my next post I found a note stating that in the late 1880s the XIT Ranch added 15,000 square miles of Montana land to its Texas holdings (remember it was syndicated) then established a trail between the two properties through seven states--now that's a … Show Prices . the Texas Panhandle and had 575 miles of outside Company Website. 84 reviews #15 Best Value of 76 Ranches in Montana. Our 125th Annual Meeting will be held online this year, and it will include informative sessions featuring the research of Texas history scholars, a presentation of awards and fellowships, a silent auction, and special events. Its headquarters are still standing today. Fort Concho in 1885 and the number maintained Guests enjoy the pleasant rooms. leased land in the Dakotas and in Montana. Font size: If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. For more information please contact Digital Initiatives at the Montana State University Library or Leila Sterman, Scholarly Communication Librarian. By the turn of the century 325 windmills and 100 dams had been erected on the XIT ranges, all at a cost of around $500,000. Handbook of Texas Online, The last of the XIT cattle were sold on November 1, 1912, and land sales subsequently increased through the Capitol Reservation Lands, the new trust formed by the Farwell Estate in 1915. In 1909 nearly all of the British bonds that had helped start the enterprise were redeemed in full, much to the satisfaction of the English investors. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/xit-ranch. ... Rich's Montana Guest Ranch. Like his predecessor, Boyce insisted on strict adherence to the ranch laws as set up by the syndicate, including prohibitions against gambling, drinking alcoholic beverages, abusing stock, and killing beef without permission. The ranch, which employed as many as 100 who persuaded management that any good Best Ranches in Montana, United States: See traveler reviews, candid photos and great deals on ranches in Montana on Tripadvisor. However, the "small men," including several XIT cowboys triumphed. By 1929 some 450,000 acres were still owned by XIT Ranch; by 1943 that acreage had been reduced to around 350,000. Cordia Sloan Duke and Joe B. Frantz, 6,000 Miles of Fence: Life on the XIT Ranch of Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961). Frustrating delays in drilling wells, especially during XIT's earlier years, sometimes resulted in cattle dying from lack of sufficient water. Free parking . Font size: The northern and southern regions consists of eight pastures or divisions known as Buffalo Springs, Middle Water, Ojo Bravo, Alamasitas, Rita Blanca, Escarbada, Spring Lake, and Yellow House. $1.07 per acre for the land that would become Once the biggest ranch in the world, the XIT spread over 3 million acres and stretched nearly 200 miles long and up to 30 miles wide from Hockley County on the south all the way north to the Oklahoma border. The XIT Ranch existed from 1885 to 1912, yet from Texas to Montana the operation left a deep imprint on community culture and historical memory. The destruction of the old capitol building by fire on November 9, 1881, made construction of the new building urgent, and early in 1882 Mathias Schnell of Rock Island, Illinois, accepted the contract in return for the land. Post & News. of the Llano Estacado. This “worthless” piece of land became the fabled XIT Ranch. Company Address. From the first, the Capitol Syndicate had intended to run cattle only until the land could be utilized for agriculture; long-range goals were to promote settlement, eventually subdivide the acreage, and gradually sell it off piecemeal. Phone Number (406) 856-4073 Call Now! The XIT stretched for more than 200 miles in the Texas Panhandle and had 575 miles of outside fence. © their respective owners. Join TSHA to support quality Texas history programs and receive exclusive benefits. The romance of the XIT Ranch, enhanced by the spread's sheer size, lives on in western lore. It all began when the Capitol building in Austin, Texas burned to the ground. Many people have been under the impression that the Capitol Syndicate was an English concern, but it was not. For eleven years of operation, the XIT drove 12500 cattle from the Texas Panhandle to graze on acreage acquired north of Miles City Montana. million acres across ten counties on the Llano During the inspection tour the party had discovered a mistake in earlier surveys, notably that made by John H. Clark in 1859; subsequently the syndicate took measures that eventually saved for Texas a strip of land on the New Mexico line measuring a half mile or more in width and 310 miles long. Beginning in 1889, a program of breeding and herd improvement was launched with the introduction of Hereford, shorthorn, and Aberdeen-Angus cattle to the XIT. last XIT cattle, 13,560 head, were sold in November The XIT stretched for more than 200 miles in In turn, the ranch created wealth for some and promoted the expansion of railroads, new towns, farms, and jobs. Certainly the operation of such a huge spread meant coping with unceasing problems. The current owners are the second owners in the ranch… The eighth division, Alamasitas, which came about with the building of the Pecos and North Texas line in 1898, was centered at Bovina. XIT Ranch The XIT Ranch encompassed more than three million acres across ten counties on the Llano Estacado in western Texas. See what Buyers are saying about Judd Ranch. Another railroad shipping point was Perico, near the Farwell Park line camp in the Buffalo Springs division. By attracting wealthy British investors like the Earl of Aberdeen and Henry Seton-Karr, a member of Parliament, Farwell returned with the equivalent of roughly $5 million in American currency. Ranch. H. Allen Anderson, rustlers. William E. Halsell started his Mashed O Ranch out of the old Spring Lake division by buying 184,155 acres; John M. Shelton developed the Ojo Bravo division as the Bravo and JJ ranches. To better promote its real estate, the Syndicate established the office of land commissioner in 1905, selected F. W. Wilsey for the position, and stationed James D. Hamlin at the rail town of Farwell to represent the owners. Instances of fence cutting and cattle rustling increased as smaller ranchers moved into the Panhandle and the adjacent New Mexico Territory. Straight-shooting lawmen like Ira Aten were frequently hired as section foremen. Press, 1953. I have well-drawn maps for others. The old Escarbada division headquarters, where Ira Aten and his family resided during his stint as foreman, is now part of the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. The ranch also had 325 windmills and 100 dams to regulate the water supply. Upcoming Sales. A Laura V. Hamner, Short Grass and Longhorns (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1943). The XIT is known for its dedication to improving ranch horse and … accessed February 28, 2021, the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment James D. Hamlin, The Flamboyant Judge: As Told to J. Evetts Haley and William Curry Holden (Canyon, Texas: Palo Duro, 1972). A 31st Cow Power Female Sale. The XIT Ranch encompassed more than three 3,000,000 acres of which the State of Texas traded for its huge granite capitol building, and 500,000 acres which the capitol Syndicate purchased. Syndicate Company received title to the land the declining prices of cattle, the XIT was dismantled Buffalo Springs, near the Oklahoma border in Dallam County, was used as a steer pasture; Middlewater, in Hartley County twenty-one miles southwest of present Dalhart, was reserved for culls and undesirables; Ojo Bravo (Bold Spring), in Hartley County south of the Romero community and considered the prettiest part of the ranch, grazed high-grade cattle; and Rita Blanca, west and south of Channing, was utilized as a beef ranch. The IX Ranch is a legacy ranch – it is huge, has a long history of stable ownership and a respected reputation in reputation ranch country. The Texas state constitution of 1876 set aside three million acres of public land in the Texas Panhandle in exchange for construction of the state’s monumental red-granite capitol in Austin. New York: William Morrow Ultimately, the enterprize ran its course and the British creditors ran out of patience. 1912, and the vast ranch was sold in This is an important primary source for students of American history and for Texans, a story of Panhandle cowboys and the cattleman legacy not to be missed. Ranches developed in the 1800s as the days of open range ended and cattleman began buying out the claims of settlers and fencing the land into pastures with the introduction of barbed wire in 1874. The brand A For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. Cattle Empire: The Fabulous The location of what is now the XIT West Ranch Headquarters was an early headquarters of the XI Ranch. Charles E. McConnell, XIT Buck (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1968). Ranch. Escarbada, in the southwest corner of Deaf Smith County, ran graded cattle. Because of the high price of land and He recommended that it be immediately stocked with cattle and fenced. He arrived at Mobeetie in March 1882 and sought transportation facilities to the tract from nearby Fort Elliott. Since the land that the syndicate was to receive as payment was in the unsettled Panhandle area, the syndicate established the XIT Ranch to utilize the land until it could be sold. Bobby Dyckes, Dalhart cowboy artist, and Mrs. John Marsh, Miles City, Montana, seen standing outside beside a monument. George W. Littlefield was the first large purchaser, buying 235,858 acres. Show Prices . Image credits. The last parcel of XIT land was sold in 1963 by Hamlin Y. Overstreet, who had succeeded his late uncle as a company representative in Farwell. Ray Miller, Eyes of Texas Travel Guide: Panhandle/Plains Edition (Houston: Cordovan, 1982). The Texas state constitution of 1876 set aside 3,000,000 acres of public land in the Texas Panhandle in exchange for construction of the state’s monumental red-granite capitol in Austin. Our records show it was established in Montana. For eleven consecutive years, 12,500 cattle were driven annually to these northern pastures and fattened for the Chicago markets. William S. Mabry, surveyor from Tascosa, and C. R. Vivian, the Oldham county clerk, accompanied Babcock, along with several area cowboys and a Mexican cook. A XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana: Miller, Michael M.: Amazon.sg: Books Back to Montana State … Company, Ltd., in 1885, which included investors with a headquarters at Channing. During the Civil War, Captain Richard King, the founder and owner of the King Ranch, had to flee to Mexico to avoid arrest by Union troops. B. H. (Barbecue) Campbell of Wichita, Kansas, was chosen by Farwell to be the XIT's first general manager. On the strength of Babcock's suggestions, it was decided to fence the entire range and erect windmills. See more ideas about ranch, texas history, texas panhandle. Starting in 1901, the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company—as the XIT ownership was known—began selling land and by 1950 had completely liquidated. That land became the XIT Ranch, briefly one of the most productive cattle operations in the West. Information not … fence. Buy XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana by Miller, Michael M. online on Amazon.ae at best prices. Previous: Wildlife and Agriculture | Contents | Next: © 2011 University of Nebraska–LincolnImages are Matlock briefly took over the management until January 1, 1888, when Albert G. Boyce came in as the new general manager. XIT Ranch Plains, Kansas The XIT Ranch in Kansas has been owned and operated by the Adams family for more than 100 years and has impressively retained its original acreage, nearly 100,000 acres. By the late 1890s the clamorings of British creditors were rising, and the Capitol Syndicate began the gradual process of selling out. In 1887 reports of inconsistencies in the XIT's management, including inferior cattle and the presence of wanted outlaws on the range, led to an investigation conducted at the syndicate's request by state Senator Avery L. Matlock from Montague. The voluminous XIT Ranch records are housed in the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, and the old general office building still stands in Channing. Since the XIT dominated politics in several counties, many of its employees were elected to public offices. For eleven consecutive years, 12,500 cattle were driven annually to these northern pastures and fattened for the Chicago markets. The XIT Ranch feels they are THE XIT RANCH, if not everywhere, than in Kansas. This became On the strength of a letter he carried from Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to the post commander, he was furnished a four-mule ambulance, a wagon to haul camp equipment, and a small wall tent. The Handbook of Texas is free-to-use thanks to the support of readers like you. / No thank you, I am not interested in joining. From Buffalo Springs, near the northern boundary, to Yellowhouse Creek in Hockley County, the odd entourage took thirty-six days to inspect the vast ranges, traveling over 950 miles in all. The ranch also shipped cattle north by train, but ended its run in Montana around 1905 after two bitterly hard winters. iron, but also be difficult to brand over by Haley, J. Evetts. Of this amount, the Capitol Syndicate's expenditures were $3,224,593.45; about $500,000 was assumed by the state. Kenneth C. Dagel The ranch then sold off a large portion of its holdings in Texas. Experimental "poor farms," as the cowboys called them, were set up, one about seven miles south of Channing and another at the short-lived townsite of Parmerton near Bovina. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. largest cattle ranch in the world, the XIT also I'm Rohit, the website manager, and here is the "best" website of the XIT Ranch. from the United States and Britain. The ranch covered parts of ten High Plains counties. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on … As homesteaders began pouring in, a land rush occurred during the early 1900s. Because of such difficulties, in addition to droughts, blizzards, prairie fires, and declining markets, the XIT operated largely without profit throughout most of its lifespan. the XIT. Section 107 related to Copyright and “Fair Use” for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. Total cost of erecting the state capitol, which was completed in April 1888, was $3,744,630.60. To secure the enormous amount of finances necessary for developing the ranch, John Farwell went to England and late in 1884 succeeded in forming the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company of London. XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana is a captivating, well-documented, and richly detailed history of nineteenth-century ambition, investment, and industry. The This was anciently the territory of the Querecho Indians and Teyas. In Dalhart memories of the ranch are kept alive in the XIT Museum and the famous "Empty Saddles" monument, as well as the annual XIT Reunion, complete with parade and rodeo. large parcels to other ranchers and in small Campbell, in the meantime, set about contracting for longhorn cattle in Central and South Texas. IX IX Ranch produces exceptional quality livestock and is dedicated to long-term value creation for our shareholders, management, employees, and customers. During the 1880s, the ranch was the largest ranch in the world under fence. building in Austin. Presenting 20 wonderful facts, this website is short and concise, with correct information, and a bibliography citing all the sources I used to get the information. Browse Montana ranches for sale and claim your own piece of Big Sky Country. At one point the ranch had over 150,000 head of cattle! After 1887 large-scale buying ceased, and the herd as carried averaged 150,000 head. By the time Henry S. Boice succeeded A. G. Boyce as general manager in 1905, much of the XIT land was already being divided into small tracts and sold to farmers. Consequently the XIT men, along with certain "hired guns," often formed vigilante posses that struck back at known rustler abodes. Under his direction, Mabry surveyed a fence line for a horse pasture at Buffalo Springs, the ranch's first designated headquarters, and late in the spring of 1885 the first pasture fence was completed. Even so, under his rule, the XIT reached its peak with 150 cowboys who rode 1,000 horses and branded 35,000 calves in one year. Yes, I would like to begin receiving history-rich content, news, and updates from TSHA. October Female Sale. XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana By Michael M. Miller The Texas state constitution of 1876 set aside three million acres of public land in the Texas Panhandle in exchange for construction of the state’s monumental red-granite capitol in Austin. in exchange for constructing a new capitol Not always did the ranch interests win out; in 1891 "Judge" A. L. Matlock led the forces opposing the organization of Dallam and Hartley counties, fearing that friction resulting from the subsequent influx of settlers and more towns would upset the well ordered life the ranch had enjoyed. and Company, 1949. reset. reset. The XIT Ranch was the largest of the old ranches in the Texas Panhandle. One fence ran 150 miles without a turn. This was the XIT Ranch, composed of a vast body of land. Although dances and other social gatherings were commonplace at Channing during holidays and special occasions, other extracurricular diversions were easily attainable in the rail towns springing up outside the ranch boundaries. Within the next year 781 miles of XIT range was fenced, and by November 1886 some 110,721 cattle valued at $1,322,587 had been purchased. The XIT did score one important victory in 1903, when the county seat was moved from Hartley to Channing. In addition to its vast Panhandle acreage, the XIT maintained maturing grounds for its cattle in the northern Plains, first in South Dakota and later, in 1889, on a range north of Miles City, Montana. In the late 1920s, the Farwell Estate commissioned J. Evetts Haley to write its colorful history, The XIT Ranch of Texas (1929). Several months later Schnell assigned the rest of his contract to the syndicate after rumors surfaced that he had bribed one of the capitol commissioners and had tried to bribe designing architect Elijah E. Myers. At any rate, Joe Collins, who brought in the second herd, served briefly as range foreman but was shortly afterward replaced by Berry Nations. Hello, and welcome to the XIT Ranch Website on Weebly! The XIT ranch was located in the western edge of the Texas Panhandle. It, along with Lewis T. Nordyke's Cattle Empire (1949), which is written more like a novel, remains the standard account. An experienced rancher and breeder and longtime friend of Taylor and the Farwells, Campbell received his nickname from the Bar BQ brand he used at his ranch on Medicine Lodge Creek in the Indian Territory. R. L. (Bob) Duke, who had served as foreman for the Buffalo Springs division and then as assistant general manager under Boice, became the last XIT cowboy to actually work for the estate when he was retained to oversee that portion of the range leased to the Shelton-Trigg partnership. The Capitol building, completed XIT was the idea of Ab Blocker, a trail driver There were no funds to rebuild a new capitol. brand should be easy to make with a simple Babcock returned to Chicago to report that claims for the spread, which extended some 220 miles north to south on the New Mexico border, were accurate in regard to soil, grass, water, timber, rock, and shelter. Estacado in western Texas. in the early twentieth century. on the XIT eventually grew to 150,000. Other West Texas towns, including Muleshoe, Farwell, and Bovina, also advertise their common heritage with the XIT. When the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway built through the Panhandle in 1887, the new town of Channing emerged as a major shipping point. Norman: University of Oklahoma Moreover, wolves and other wild animal predators, deprived of their natural prey, took a terrible annual toll among cattle, particularly during the calving season; many cowboys thus earned extra money by "wolfing" to obtain the high bounties established for wolf pelts. La Rita Performing Arts Theatre is minutes away. They had been driven from the Fort Concho area by Abner P. Blocker, who reportedly devised the XIT brand with his boot in the dust when Campbell sought a design that could not be changed easily. They don’t have a sign, the relevent people find them. Consequently, Campbell resigned and returned to his family and business interests in Kansas. During the reign of the ranch, the herd varied between 125,000 and 150,000 head—excluding ranges in Montana to which the ranch had expanded. Support the Handbook today. Our wide selection of ranches offer fly-fishing, cattle ranching, horseback riding, large and small game hunting, and more making for an outdoor recreationist’s dream. The first cattle--mostly Longhorns--arrived on the XIT ranch in 1885. The XIT Ranch came into being and succeeded, Miller shows, only because of the work of accountants, lawyers, and managers, overseen by officers and a board of seasoned international capitalists. At the time, just following the costly Civil War, Texas found itself cash poor but land rich. Missouri Western State College. Cowhands were paid from twenty-five to thirty dollars a month. They have been under family operation under the Adams Cattle Co. for over a hundred years, so this is deserved. October 9, 2021. Each division had a section headquarters, a foreman, its quota of employees and horses, and its specific characteristics. Spring Lake, in northern Lamb County, was a breeding pasture, while Casas Amarillas (see YELLOW HOUSE RANCH), was a general pasture in southern Lamb County. And it was the largest fence-building project in American history. acreages to farmers from 1901 to the 1950s. In addition to its vast Panhandle acreage, the XIT maintained maturing grounds for its cattle in the northern Plains, first in South Dakota and later, in 1889, on a range north of Miles City, Montana. Story of the 3,000,000 acre XIT. The Texas Constitution of 1876 set aside three million acres of Texas public land in exchange for construction of the monumental red granite Capitol that continues to house Texas state government today. In 1879 the Sixteenth Texas Legislature appropriated three million acres of land to finance a new state Capitol building and appointed a Capitol Board composed of the governor, comptroller, treasurer, attorney general, and land commissioner to sell the land and contract for the building. Although legend persists that the brand signified "ten in Texas" since the land covered all or portions of Dallam, Hartley, Oldham, Deaf Smith, Parmer, Castro, Bailey, Lamb, Cochran, and Hockley counties, that theory is doubtful; some speculate that it really meant "biggest in Texas." WiFi and parking are free, and this motel also features a 24-hour front desk. in 1888, ultimately cost $3,224,593.45, On July 1, 1885, the first herd of 2,500 head arrived at Buffalo Springs.
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