Ranching and Farming in Hale County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about ranching and farming in Hale County. Now settle in, because this is a story that doesn't start easy, and it doesn't stay easy for long. Pioneer ranchers began arriving in Hale County in the early 1880s, and if you showed up expecting comfort, well, the land had a way of correcting that expectation in a hurry.

Land was plentiful and cheap, sure enough. But life was hard. Many of those early settlers weren't sleeping under proper roofs.

They were living in dugouts, carved right into the earth itself. When you needed supplies, they were freighted in all the way from Colorado City, and that arrangement held until the railroad finally reached Amarillo. Until then, you waited.

Cattle roamed the free grazing land, running where they pleased, and when round-up time came, they were separated according to brands. That was the rhythm of the place. But ranching alone didn't always keep a family fed, so men found other ways to earn.

Some sold buffalo bones for fertilizer. Some worked on the railroad. Some hired out to larger operations.

And the largest operation around was something to behold. Colonel C. C.

Slaughter's Circle Ranch covered land in four counties. Four counties. You can let that settle a moment.

Other ranches made their mark too, the Callahan, the Barton, and the Norfleet ranches among them. But nothing lasts unchanged out here. When the public land was gone and free grazing ended, the larger ranches were divided into smaller tracts.

That transition from ranching to farming was difficult, and the marker doesn't dress it up any other way. By the early twentieth century, wheat farming and dairy production had begun to replace ranching operations. A new chapter, written slow and hard.

Then came the 1930s. The Dust Bowl. The Depression.

New hardships piling onto old ones, right when folks might have thought they'd seen enough. But the story turns again. Soon after World War II, a high percentage of the cultivated acreage in Hale County came under irrigation, and that changed everything.

Suddenly you could diversify. Grain sorghum, corn, soybeans, wheat, vegetables, livestock production. The land that once demanded everything from the people living on it was finally giving something back in kind.

And cotton? Cotton has become the leading cash crop. From dugouts and buffalo bones to irrigated fields stretching as far as you can see.

Hale County didn't get here easy, but here it is.

What the marker says

Pioneer ranchers began to settle Hale County in the early 1880s. Land was plentiful and cheap, but life was hard. Many settlers lived in dugouts. Supplies were freighted from Colorado City until the railroad reached Amarillo. Cattle roamed the free grazing land until round-up time, when they were separated according to brands. Ranchers earned extra income by selling buffalo bones for fertilizer, working on the railroad, or hiring out to larger ranches. Many worked at the Circle Ranch of Col. C. C. Slaughter, which covered land in four counties. Other significant ranches included the Callahan, Barton, and Norfleet ranches. When the public land was gone and free grazing ended, the larger ranches were divided into smaller tracts. The transition from ranching to farming was difficult. By the early 20th century, wheat farming and dairy production began to replace ranching operations. The Dust Bowl and Depression of the 1930s brought new hardships. Soon after World War II, however, a high percentage of the cultivated acreage in Hale County was under irrigation. This allowed for crop diversification with high yields of grain sorghum, corn, soybeans, wheat, vegetables, and livestock production. Cotton has become the leading cash crop. (1985)