Famed cattleman Charles Goodnight established one ofthe first ranches in the Texas Panhandle, the JA ranch, in 1876. Later that year Thomas S. Bugbee established the first cattle ranch in Hutchinson County.

As a result of soaring beef prices cattle ranchingproliferated in this region of the U.S. in the 1880s. The Texas Panhandle, with its open range and expansive grasslands became the preferred winter grazing site for cattle migrating south from Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. This seasonal influx of cattle disrupted the practice of area ranchers who went to great lengths to respect adjacent ranch boundaries.

Members of the Panhandle Stock Association pooled theirresources and in 1882-85 erected barbed wire barriersalong a 200-mile stretch of the Panhandle includingHutchinson County to prevent cattle from drifting southinto the fertile Canadian River valley.

The "Drift Fence" worked too well in the winters of 1886 and 1887 when thousands of cattle moving south ahead of strong storms stalled at the fence line and froze or were trampled to death. The staggering losses prompted federal and state legislation which limited fencing on public lands and the "Drift Fence" was removed or incorporated into private ranch fencing.Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995
Marker is property of the State of Texas

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Show me all markers in:  Stinnett, TX  |  Hutchinson County  |  79083  |  Texas  |  United States of America

First Battle of Adobe Walls
Isaac McCormick Cottage
Hutchinson County Courthouse
Site of Old Zulu Stockade
Site of Cator Buffalo Camp
Adobe Walls Battle Ground
Plemons Cemetery
Bents Creek
Fritz Thompson Bridge
Battle of Adobe Walls

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