XIT Ranch
- During the 1800’s, the XIT Ranch was the largest fenced Ranch in the world, with over 3,000,000 acres. It stretches along the Texas Panhandle, and extends into the Oklahoma Panhandle. It is also 30 miles wide!
- There are more than 150,000 cattle and 1,000 horses in the XIT Ranch! However, they have no (zero) goats or sheeps.
- This Ranch was founded in 1885 by Charlie V. Farwell and John V. Farwell, brothers from Chicago. Charlie is older.
- XIT stands for “Ten in Texas” because it stretches along 10 counties in Texas. They are Dallam, Hartley, Oldham, Deaf Smith, Panner, Castro, Bailey, Lamb, Cochran, and Hockley.
- In order to mark their cattle from the rest, the XIT Ranchers simply write ‘XIT’ on their cattle, because they have no specific symbol.
- Because of the constant increase in prices of land, the land of the XIT was sold, and on November 1st, 1912, the XIT Ranch sold it’s last cattle.
- By 1929, the XIT Ranch owned about 450,000 acres (compared to 3 million), while 14 years later, in 1943, they only owned 350,000 acres. In 1963, the last parcel of land is owned by Hamlin Y. Overstreet.
- The XIT Ranch was originally made off of public lands owned by the government. However, because it was unused and there were several buffalo and cattle grazing the lands, they decided to make it a Ranch.
- The XIT Ranch still stands today, however much smaller, with a museum and many activities in Dalhart, Texas.
- The first 22,000 cattle arrived from Fort Concho in 1885 and the number eventually grew to 150,000.
- The ranch employed more than 100 cowboys, and was organized into seven divisions with a headquarters at Channing.
- The brand ‘XIT’ was the idea of Ab Blocker, a trail driver who persuaded management by telling them that it would be hard for cattle rustlers to change their brand and make it their own.
- The Texas government held a contest to decide who could make the best capitol for the state. The Farwell brothers from Chicago entered the contest and won. The reward was 3,000,000 acres of land in North Texas (XIT Ranch).
- The barbed wire surrounding the XIT ranch has been there since the ranch was started in 1885. Today, there is more than 6,000 miles of wire surrounding the ranch!
- Unlike most ranches, which usually had a boss or foreman, the XIT has a president board of director, financial officers, bookkeepers, general manager, range bosses, wagon bosses, straw bosses, as well as cowboys, cooks and wranglers. At its peak the XIT Ranch employed 150 men.
- During the late 1880s, cattle prices fell drastically. They weren’t able to make a profit, and their cattle were constantly stolen by rustlers, and eaten by predators, mainly wolves, making a further loss.
- On July 1, 1885, the first herd of 2,500 buffalo arrived in the XIT Ranch, from Buffalo Springs, in Texas.
- By 1886, 781 miles of the XIT Ranch has been fenced-in. By November 110,721 cows have been purchases for over 1 million dollars.
- By 1900s, there were around 325 windmills and 100 dams erected on the XIT ranches, cross fences divided the ranch into ninety-four pastures and 1,500 miles of fencing has been completed.
- Cowboys and cowgirls were paid from about $25-$30 a month, and were given extra for “wolfing”, where you eliminate wolves from feeding on cattle.