River Valley Pioneer Museum: Ranching in Hemphill County

Ranching has been a part of life in Hemphill County since the 1880' s. Many families Settled and worked their ranches in Hemphill Co. The following are only a few of the families that have ranched in Canadian.

The G.W. (“Cap”) Arrington family has been in Canadian since the 1890's. In 1890, George Washington (G.W.) “Cap” Arrington left law enforcement of Wheeler and surrounding counties and moved his family from the county jail in Mobeetie to 643 acres of ranchland in Hemphill County , which included the headwaters on the Washita River . Cap built two cabins to house his family and serve as ranch headquarters. He later added 3,200 acres of open range to his holdings. The family raised wheat and cattle and in 1885 registered the CAP cattle brand. In 1919 a Van Tien pre-fabricated home was shipped from Iowa and built where it stands today. Cap was co-founder of the rural school known as Cedar Mountain School District . Arrington Ranch has been in full operation by Arrington heirs since the death of Cap in 1923. Oil was discovered on the ranch in the late 1980's. Today, Mike and Debbie Arrington operate the ranch while offering a wildlife preserve. The Mike Arrington family also produces hay and has a cow-calf operation. The 1919 pre-fabricated house was restored in 1999 and is now a Bed and Breakfast, “The Lodge”, run by Mike and Debbie. Today the house welcomes visitors to the remote ranch and in 2000 starred in the Tom Hanks movie “Cast Away.” The Family Land Heritage Program of the Texas Department of Agriculture has recognized this ranch for ownership in the Arrington Family for over 100 years. The ranch is a haven for threatened species, including the western burrowing owl, lesser prairie chicken and Texas horned lizard. Often seen are the golden eagles, red-tail hawks, and wild turkey. White-tail and mule-deer are at home on the ranch, as well as prairie dogs, coyotes, dove, quail, ducks and bats.

George Washinton (Cap) Arrington	Sarah Arrington
French Arrington son of G.W. (Cap) Arrington	Arrington Family Photo taken 1911

E.H. (Ed) Brainard came to the Panhandle in 1868. The first Brainard land was proved in 1895 in Roberts County, known as Johnscreek. Ed homesteaded on four sections at a time. He also acquired land through the dissolution of large ranches such as the Hansford land and Cattle Co., and the Bar CC Ranch. By 1940, their ranches were approximately 50,000 acres and were stocked with quality Hereford cattle. Ed has been gone for almost 65 years now and the Lazy B cattle still continue to roam in Roberts and Hemphill counties.

Shaller Ranch
Charles Henry Shaller and his wife Ida, arrived in Canadian in 1887 before the Santa Fe railroad completed construction of the River Bridge . Their oldest son Claude was born before their arrival and was one of the earliest children in Canadian. Charles and Ida Shaller had eleven children, nine of which survived to be adults. Charles Shaller purchased land in 1889 and the first family headquarters was located two miles east of Canadian. Son, Frank Jamison Shaller was born at the home place on June 23, 1901 . In 1910 the Shaller family moved to town into a home built by C.H. Shaller at 1022 Main Street . Frank Shaller went to college in Wisconsin in 1920, however his education was interrupted by the death of his father C.H. Shaller in 1924. Frank had to return to Texas for sometime, but in 1927 he was able to graduate from the University of Wisconsin with a BS degree in Agriculture. On February 14, 1930 Frank married Pauline McMordie. At that time she was a schoolteacher at the Liberty Country School in Lipscomb County . By 1936 Frank opened a commission company in the Moody Building listing and selling cattle. In 1942, Ida Shaller died and Frank bought out brothers Lee and Rolla. Until his death in 1983, Frank farmed dry land wheat and was known for his high grade Hereford cattle. He passed his ranch on to his daughter Frances Shaller Haley. Her two sons, Jim and Jeff Haley presently operate the Shaller ranch. Shaller ranch is located six miles east of Canadian. Eight and one-half sections of the present ranch is part of the original Charles Henry Shaller property, who was a Canadian pioneer.

Reverend Clifton Alexander, wife Mary Jane, and family came to the Texas Panhandle in 1884. The first section of land was filed in 1886. The land is located south of Canadian on the Washita. Their son Theodore (R.T.) remained on the ranch and expanded the one original section to the present Alexander Ranch. The Alexander family's Registered Cattle Business began in 1909. They are one of the oldest Hereford Breeders in the Panhandle. The land that he developed into an outstanding cattle ranch is still owned by members of the Alexander Family.

Cabin Creek Ranch began in 1892 when Joseph O. Forgey came to Hemphill county to work on the Laurel Leaf Ranch and to file on his own land. Jeanie Cooper, daughter of neighboring ranchers, George and Janet Cooper, married Joseph Forgey in 1898. They spent the rest of their lives on Cabin Creek, gradually accumulating more land and raising four children. Their son, Oscar Forgey was born on the ranch in 1900. After graduation from Canadian High School and attending business school in Tyler, Texas, he came back to Canadian to work at the original First State Bank. When he had saved enough money, he enrolled in the University of Oklahoma, majoring in pre-law. When his father died, in 1924, Oscar returned home to help his mother manage the ranch. He married Mabel Alexander in 1935. Oscar and Mabel bought the ranch from Jeanie Cooper Forgey soon after he and Mabel were married. Oscar died in 1975, and Mabel moved to Canadian, and she continued to operate the ranch until shortly before her death in 1991. Oscar and Mabel had two daughters, Janet and Eleanor. Upon Mabel's death in 1991, the ranch was divided amongst the two Forgey daughters. The south portion of the original Cabin Creek Ranch is owned by Sid and Janet (Forgey) Parnell. Sid and Janet moved to Cabin Creek in 1963. The north portion is owned by Eleanor (Forgey) Glazener. Eleanor currently resides near Umbarger, Texas. She currently leases out her portion of Cabin Creek. The original house built on the north portion of the ranch by Joe Forgey still stands and is currently inhabited. In 1998, the Cabin Creek Ranch received its Family Land Heritage Certificate, awarded "For a century of continuous ownership and operation as a family agriculture enterprise."

WJ Todd Sr. established the Todd Ranch in northwest Hemphill County in 1895 and spent several years in building it to its current size of 17,500 acres. WJ Todd Sr. owned and managed the ranch until his death in 1921. Then his only son, WJ Todd Jr. (Jep) assumed management of the ranch. In 1937, Jep joined in operation of the ranch with his nephew, Dale Nix who was orphaned at the age of 10 and was adopted by "Uncle Jep" and "Aunt Estelle" who never had children of their own. Jep died in 1942, leaving the ranching operation to Dale. After 1946, Nix Cattle Company had leased the acreage owned by the Todd heirs and continue operating the ranch as a unit, as it remains of Todd ownership. In 1996 Dale and Bill Nix reorganized the operation, partly for estate planning purposes and partly to involve Bill more actively in the family business. Ownership of all Nix-owned land was transferred to a limited partnership, Nix Ranch, Ltd. Dale died in 2000 leaving Bill to run the operation with John Wheeler as Ranch Manager. In 2003, Mary Alice, son Bill, and wife Puddin Nix accepted the recognition for Todd Ranch, now doing business as Nix Ranch, Ltd. Bill Nix and John Wheeler earned certification for the ranch as a "Texas Quality Beef Producer".

The Springer Ranch was the first ranch in the Texas Panhandle, but due to its brief life, the still-extant JA Ranch also claims that honor. In the spring of 1895, AG (Jim) Springer appropriated a spot of land in Hemphill County on Boggy Creek just north of its junction with the Canadian River. He constructed a multi room dugout to serve as a general store, hotel, and saloon, as well as living quarters. In addition, he dug a tunnel to the nearby corral and stable. Since Springer's holstery was on the military route from Fort Supply to Fort Elliot, it quickly became a supply depot and gathering place for buffalo hunters, soldiers, and cowboys. Black troops found it to be the only place they were welcome to play cards and enjoy good whiskey and tobacco. In 1878 a post office was established there under the name of Boggy Station, it was closed after only 2 months and mail was routed to Fort Supply. In 1875, an outfit herding 2000 cattle crossed the River near his roadhouse and sold Springer 300 head and left Tom Leadbetter, a young trail hand, to help manage them. In 1878, Springer and Leadbetter were killed in a gunfight with disgruntled buffalo soldiers over a poker game. They were buried at the ranch. The ranch entered a new phase after Springer's brother sold the business to Tuttle and Chapman from Dodge City. Tuttle bought out Champan's interest and personally operated the Springer Ranch for 2 years. Tuttle used a CT brand and increased the herd to 1800 head. During Tuttle brief tenure, the post office was reestablished in 1879 under the name Springer Ranch; it remained in operation until 1885. In 1881, Tuttle sold out to a Denver horse ranch partnership, the Rhodes and Aldridge Company. They changed the brand to Quarter Circle U and operated the ranch as absentee owners. Around 1889, the Springer Ranch Company sold out all its holdings piecemeal. The roadhouse was abandoned and the ranch ceased to exist. Since the 1940's, part of the Springer roadhouse site has been covered by Lake Marvin.

Conatser Ranch, founded by William Jasper Conatser (1863-1940), known as W. J. or “Cobb,” who came to Hemphill County from Tennessee in 1885. He initially worked for the Laurel Leaf Ranch and subsequently was a partner in the cattle business with J. H. Hopkins on Spring Creek, now known as the Big Bull Ranch. He met Mary Ann Fawcett (1873-1957), of Osage City , Kansas , while visiting friends in Grand, Oklahoma , where she was teaching school. They married in 1896, began their family on the Big Bull Ranch, and, in 1905, moved to the present ranch on Boggy Creek. Here W. J. built a sod-roofed home from timbers he pulled from the river, registered the “C” cattle brand, and began the Conatser Ranch. His son Tom (1899–1988) returned in the 1920s from a sojourn in California to help run the ranch. In 1932, Tom married Margaret Parsell (1903-1968), whose family had a ranch up the river in Roberts County . Tom and Margaret raised four children on the ranch. About 1942, W. J.'s widow, Mary Ann Conatser, purchased 924 acres next to Lake Marvin that adjoined their ranch. This land, purchased from Tom Harlan, was the “Old Springer Ranch”, which was a well known stop for the soldiers going from Ft. Elliott in Mobeetie to Fort Supply in Oklahoma . The house on this property became the main dwelling of the Conatser Ranch. Robert Allen “Bob” Conatser, older son of Tom and Margaret, ran the ranch from 1970 until 1996, when it was purchased by Ed and Ruth Shannon of Whittier , California .
Ruth Conatser Arrington

Numerous other families in Hemphill County have operated successful ranches and have contributed to the history and growth of the region.