Matador Ranch

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The Matador Ranch. Motley County, Texas.

Now settle in, because this one's got some reach to it. We're talkin' about a piece of Texas so big it makes other big things feel small. It started in 1879, when Henry H.

Campbell, A. M. Britton, and three others bought range rights out here on the open range and set the Matador Cattle Company in motion.

Open range. No fences, no apologies, just cattle and sky as far as you cared to look. But 1879 was just the opening line of a much longer story.

By 1882, Scottish investors had come callin', and they purchased the ranch and formed the Matador Land and Cattle Company, Limited. Scottish money, Texas land. The ranch grew into something that doesn't fit easy in your imagination: one and a half million acres of owned and leased range, spread across Motley, Floyd, Dickens, and Cottle counties.

Then in 1902, the ranch reached out and grabbed the Alamocitas Ranch in Oldham County; two hundred and ten thousand acres, just like that. And if Texas wasn't enough range to satisfy, they leased additional pastures up in the Dakotas, Montana, and Canada. At its height, the Matador owned ninety thousand cattle and held title to eight hundred and seventy-nine thousand acres of Texas land.

Let that number sit with you for a moment. Eight hundred and seventy-nine thousand acres. The general managers who ran this empire read like a roster worth knowin'.

Britton held the reins from 1879 to 1890. Then came Murdo MacKenzie, who managed from 1890 to 1911, stepped away, and (here's the part worth a raised eyebrow) came back again and managed from 1923 all the way to 1937. John MacBain held it together in between, from 1912 to 1922.

And John MacKenzie carried it from 1937 to 1951. The general manager's office moved around some too; first in Fort Worth, then later in Trinidad and Denver, Colorado. But through all of it, the corporate offices stayed in Scotland, from 1882 right up until the end.

In 1913, the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railroad was built through the ranch in Motley County, and the town of Roaring Springs was established. A railroad, a town, all on ranch land. That's not a ranch anymore; that's a world.

And then, 1951, it was over. Liquidation. The corporate offices in Scotland closed.

The great Matador Land and Cattle Company wound down after nearly seventy years. The ranch headquarters was purchased by Koch Industries, Inc., and became The Matador Cattle Company; the name coming back around to where it all started in 1879. Some stories end.

Some just change hands.

What the marker says

The Matador Cattle Company began as an open range ranch in 1879 when Henry H. Campbell, A. M. Britton, and three others bought range rights in this area. In 1882, the ranch was purchased by Scottish investors, who formed the Matador Land & Cattle Company, Ltd. The ranch utilized one and one half million acres of owned and leased range in Motley, Floyd, Dickens and Cottle counties. In 1902, the ranch acquired the 210,000 acre Alamocitas Ranch in Oldham County. Additional pastures were leased in the Dakotas, Montana and Canada. At its height the ranch owned 90,000 cattle and title to 879,000 acres of Texas land. In 1913, the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railroad was built through the ranch in Motley County and the town of Roaring Springs was established. General managers of the ranch were Britton (1879-90), Murdo MacKenzie (1890-1911, 1923-1937), John MacBain (1912-1922), and John MacKenzie (1937-1951). The general manager's office was located first in Fort Worth and later in Trinidad and Denver, Colorado. Corporate offices were maintained in Scotland from 1882 until the ranch's liquidation in 1951. The ranch headquarters was purchased by Koch Industries, Inc. and became The Matador Cattle Company. Texas Sesquicentennial, 1836-1986