Elkins Ranch Cowboy Morning
A fifth generation working cattle ranch comprised of thousands of acres of rugged range and scenic canyon land that remains virtually untouched from the late 1800’s. Jeep rides, weather permitting, are available year round. Chuck wagon breakfasts, under the Cowboy Morning name, and dinners are offered from April through October. Certain group size minimums and age minimums apply. Reservations are requested. The ranch does not accept credit cards. Location is about 35 miles south of Amarillo, next to entrance to Palo Duro State Park. (800) 658.2613
The Now Extinct XIT Ranch
The incredibly large XIT Ranch was 3,000,000 acres and was traded to its owners so that Texas could pay for the construction of just one building—the state capitol in Austin. The XIT Ranch (the name is from how the cattle were branded) existed from 1885, but effectively was disbanded by the early 1900s after several unprofitable attempts to raise cattle.
The city of Dalhart has called itself the “XIT City” since at least 1939-1940—long after dissolution of the famous ranch. Dalhart has an XIT Museum and hosts an XIT Rodeo.
The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Panhandle of Texas which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) of land, it ran for two hundred miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km).
The JA Ranch
Jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle operation in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some 1,335,000 acres (5,400 km2) of land in six counties and a herd of 100,000 cattle. The name “JA” is derived from the initials of John Adair, a businessman from Ireland. Goodnight managed and expanded the ranch, while Adair provided the working capital. Upon Adair's death, his wife, the former Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, took over Adair's interest in the JA. In 1888, Goodnight left the arrangement to establish his own ranch and in time ventured into other business activities as well.
Spade Ranch was the name of two separate West Texas ranches, both of which were invariably linked through the innovation of barbed wire. The two were under separate ownership.
The early and first Spade Ranch
The first Spade Ranch was begun in the Panhandle in 1880 by John F. "Spade" Evans, who had formed a corporation with Judson P. Warner, an agent who sold Joseph Glidden's barbed wire. On 25 August 1880 J.F. Evans and Company purchased 23 parcels of land in Donley County. Texas, near Clarendon, from J.A. Reynolds.
Their first camp was established near Glenwood Creek and they erected a log cabin on Barton Creek which they designated as their permanent headquarters. In the end, neither Evans nor Warner had the time to devote to active ranching. They turned over operations to such able ranchers as Baldy Oliver and Dave Nall. Alfred Rowe worked at Spade for a time before he started his own RO Ranch.
The unique brand
It is unknown who designed the ranch's distinctive brand. The brand, which resembles a shovel or a "spade," was first used on a cattle herd that Evans and Warner had gathered in Larmer County. The wranglers trailed the cattle to the open grasses of the Panhandle and turned the herd loose near Saddler Creek.
Renderbrook, second Spade and Isaac Ellwood
Renderbrook
While Evans and Warner's startup ranch operated J. Taylor Barr was operating the Renderbrook Ranch. Renderbrook was near Renderbrook Springs in Mitchell County, about 25 miles south of Colorado City. In 1882 Barr was bought out by brother Dudley H. and John W. Snyder. The Snyder's enlarged the operation in the five years that ensued. By 1887 the Renderbrook Ranch encompassed 300,000 acres (1,200 km²) in four counties.
Second Spade and Ellwood
Isaac L. Ellwood came onto the scene after Texas was ravaged by terrible drought and blizzards during the late 1880s. Ellwood was co-owner of the barbed wire patent with Joseph Glidden. Ellwood bought the Spade Ranch from Evans and Warner during this time period, along with his purchase came the ranch's unique brand and 800 head of cattle. Ellwood then purchased the sprawling Renderbrook Ranch from the Snyders and began to stock it with Spade cattle. In 1889 Ellwood acquired the 128,000 acre (518 km²) north pasture of the Snyder Brothers ranch and renamed it Spade Ranch, the second Spade Ranch was born. Ellwood registered the ranch's distinctive brand in Mitchell County in 1889 and Hale and Lubbock counties in 1891.
In 1902 Spade was enlarged further when Ellwood acquired adjacent land tracts totaling 262,000 acres (1,060 km²). The ranch was ten miles wide by 54 miles long. The ranch's main headquarters was located in southeastern Lamb County and the south pasture operations were headed up in eastern Hockley County, near present-day Smyer, Texas.
Spade Ranch after Isaac Ellwood
Ellwood put his oldest son, William Leonard Ellwood, in charge of his Texas ranches. After Isaac's death in 1910 W.L. and his younger brother, Erwin Perry Ellwood, jointly inherited both Spade and Renderbrooks ranches. The brothers set about to running the ranches. Water was provided through the use of windmills and wells, with the mills placed at intervals of four miles. Renderbrook and Spade were both stocked with 15,000 head of cattle a piece. Though the Ellwood brothers first ranched Red Durham cattle they soon found the Hereford cattle were much better suited to dry environment of the south plains. In 1919 they switched to Hereford bulls.
Farther south, the Renderbrook Ranch was primarily a breeding ranch. Once old enough, the young steers would be sent to Spade Ranch to graze.
Each year before 1908 three to five thousand head of steer were transported to market in Kansas by freight train, usually at Bovina or Amarillo. From 1908 until 1912 were driven to Abernathy. In 1912 the Santa Fe Railroad built its line up to Littlefield which allowed Spade to ship its cattle without having to drive them long distances.
The end of Spade Ranch
W.L. Ellwood put the northern acerage of Spade ranch up for sale as farmland. In October the ranch shipped 6,000 three-year-old steer and another 5,200 the following spring, in a second roundup. By 1926 about 80% of the north land had been sold. By 1938 Ellwood Farms, as the conglomerate was called, had sold off about 189,000 acres (765 km²), most was being used for farming in subsequent years. By 1947 the sales of the former Spade land was completed. The Ellwood family retained only 21,754 acres (88.04 km²) in Hockley County. In the early 1980s Spade cattle were still being run from the nearby Renderbrook Ranch by some of Ellwood's heirs.
A fifth generation working cattle ranch comprised of thousands of acres of rugged range and scenic canyon land that remains virtually untouched from the late 1800’s. Jeep rides, weather permitting, are available year round. Chuck wagon breakfasts, under the Cowboy Morning name, and dinners are offered from April through October. Certain group size minimums and age minimums apply. Reservations are requested. The ranch does not accept credit cards. Location is about 35 miles south of Amarillo, next to entrance to Palo Duro State Park. (800) 658.2613
The Now Extinct XIT Ranch
The incredibly large XIT Ranch was 3,000,000 acres and was traded to its owners so that Texas could pay for the construction of just one building—the state capitol in Austin. The XIT Ranch (the name is from how the cattle were branded) existed from 1885, but effectively was disbanded by the early 1900s after several unprofitable attempts to raise cattle.
The city of Dalhart has called itself the “XIT City” since at least 1939-1940—long after dissolution of the famous ranch. Dalhart has an XIT Museum and hosts an XIT Rodeo.
The XIT Ranch was a cattle ranch in the Panhandle of Texas which operated from 1885 to 1912. Comprising over 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km²) of land, it ran for two hundred miles (300 km) along the border with New Mexico, varying in width from 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km).
The JA Ranch
Jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle operation in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some 1,335,000 acres (5,400 km2) of land in six counties and a herd of 100,000 cattle. The name “JA” is derived from the initials of John Adair, a businessman from Ireland. Goodnight managed and expanded the ranch, while Adair provided the working capital. Upon Adair's death, his wife, the former Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, took over Adair's interest in the JA. In 1888, Goodnight left the arrangement to establish his own ranch and in time ventured into other business activities as well.
Spade Ranch was the name of two separate West Texas ranches, both of which were invariably linked through the innovation of barbed wire. The two were under separate ownership.
The early and first Spade Ranch
The first Spade Ranch was begun in the Panhandle in 1880 by John F. "Spade" Evans, who had formed a corporation with Judson P. Warner, an agent who sold Joseph Glidden's barbed wire. On 25 August 1880 J.F. Evans and Company purchased 23 parcels of land in Donley County. Texas, near Clarendon, from J.A. Reynolds.
Their first camp was established near Glenwood Creek and they erected a log cabin on Barton Creek which they designated as their permanent headquarters. In the end, neither Evans nor Warner had the time to devote to active ranching. They turned over operations to such able ranchers as Baldy Oliver and Dave Nall. Alfred Rowe worked at Spade for a time before he started his own RO Ranch.
The unique brand
It is unknown who designed the ranch's distinctive brand. The brand, which resembles a shovel or a "spade," was first used on a cattle herd that Evans and Warner had gathered in Larmer County. The wranglers trailed the cattle to the open grasses of the Panhandle and turned the herd loose near Saddler Creek.
Renderbrook, second Spade and Isaac Ellwood
Renderbrook
While Evans and Warner's startup ranch operated J. Taylor Barr was operating the Renderbrook Ranch. Renderbrook was near Renderbrook Springs in Mitchell County, about 25 miles south of Colorado City. In 1882 Barr was bought out by brother Dudley H. and John W. Snyder. The Snyder's enlarged the operation in the five years that ensued. By 1887 the Renderbrook Ranch encompassed 300,000 acres (1,200 km²) in four counties.
Second Spade and Ellwood
Isaac L. Ellwood came onto the scene after Texas was ravaged by terrible drought and blizzards during the late 1880s. Ellwood was co-owner of the barbed wire patent with Joseph Glidden. Ellwood bought the Spade Ranch from Evans and Warner during this time period, along with his purchase came the ranch's unique brand and 800 head of cattle. Ellwood then purchased the sprawling Renderbrook Ranch from the Snyders and began to stock it with Spade cattle. In 1889 Ellwood acquired the 128,000 acre (518 km²) north pasture of the Snyder Brothers ranch and renamed it Spade Ranch, the second Spade Ranch was born. Ellwood registered the ranch's distinctive brand in Mitchell County in 1889 and Hale and Lubbock counties in 1891.
In 1902 Spade was enlarged further when Ellwood acquired adjacent land tracts totaling 262,000 acres (1,060 km²). The ranch was ten miles wide by 54 miles long. The ranch's main headquarters was located in southeastern Lamb County and the south pasture operations were headed up in eastern Hockley County, near present-day Smyer, Texas.
Spade Ranch after Isaac Ellwood
Ellwood put his oldest son, William Leonard Ellwood, in charge of his Texas ranches. After Isaac's death in 1910 W.L. and his younger brother, Erwin Perry Ellwood, jointly inherited both Spade and Renderbrooks ranches. The brothers set about to running the ranches. Water was provided through the use of windmills and wells, with the mills placed at intervals of four miles. Renderbrook and Spade were both stocked with 15,000 head of cattle a piece. Though the Ellwood brothers first ranched Red Durham cattle they soon found the Hereford cattle were much better suited to dry environment of the south plains. In 1919 they switched to Hereford bulls.
Farther south, the Renderbrook Ranch was primarily a breeding ranch. Once old enough, the young steers would be sent to Spade Ranch to graze.
Each year before 1908 three to five thousand head of steer were transported to market in Kansas by freight train, usually at Bovina or Amarillo. From 1908 until 1912 were driven to Abernathy. In 1912 the Santa Fe Railroad built its line up to Littlefield which allowed Spade to ship its cattle without having to drive them long distances.
The end of Spade Ranch
W.L. Ellwood put the northern acerage of Spade ranch up for sale as farmland. In October the ranch shipped 6,000 three-year-old steer and another 5,200 the following spring, in a second roundup. By 1926 about 80% of the north land had been sold. By 1938 Ellwood Farms, as the conglomerate was called, had sold off about 189,000 acres (765 km²), most was being used for farming in subsequent years. By 1947 the sales of the former Spade land was completed. The Ellwood family retained only 21,754 acres (88.04 km²) in Hockley County. In the early 1980s Spade cattle were still being run from the nearby Renderbrook Ranch by some of Ellwood's heirs.
West Texas Ranches
Historic Ranches - Past and Present
Historic Ranches - Past and Present