DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one tellin' this tale — I'm just the voice it rides in on. Now settle in, because this story starts with a single man and ends with half a million acres of Texas ground. Swen Magnus Swenson — born in 1816, died in 1896 — carries a parenthetical note in history that not many men can claim: first Swedish settler in Texas.
And if that weren't enough to hang a legend on, he was closely associated with Sam Houston himself, right in the thick of Houston's effort to keep Texas in the Union before the Civil War. The man ran in serious company. In 1854, Swenson purchased large land tracts right here in this country.
That was just the opening hand. By the mid-1880s he had greatly expanded those holdings through school tracts and railroad scrips — the kind of deal-making that turns acreage into an empire. Then came new state taxes on land, and Swenson made his move.
In 1882 he leased his West Texas land to his sons — Eric Pierson and Swen Albin — and those two formed the Swenson Brothers partnership. By 1885 their ranching operations consisted of eighteen hundred shorthorn and a hundred and eighty Indiana pure crossbred Hereford-shorthorn cows, all of them bearing a distinctive reversed SMS brand. That brand is still in use today.
Now here's where the story keeps growing. The holdings started with the Flat Top, the Ericksdahl, and the Throckmorton ranches. Then in 1900 the Tongue River Ranch came into the fold.
Then in 1906 the Spur Ranch. When the dust settled, this had become one of the largest ranches in Texas — over five hundred thousand acres. Swenson Land and Cattle Company was incorporated in 1926 and established its headquarters right here in 1927.
It built a reputation not just on cattle, but on ideas — an innovative mail-order system for selling cattle, brush management programs, integrated ranching operations. Things that made other ranchers take notice. In 1978 the ranch was divided into four separate family-owned corporations.
The empire didn't disappear. It just spread out a little wider — same as Texas always does.
What the marker says
Businessman Swen (Svante) Magnus Swenson (1816-1896), first Swedish settler in Texas, is closely associated with Sam Houston and his effort to keep Texas in the Union prior to the Civil War. In 1854 Swenson purchased large land tracts here which he greatly expanded by the mid-1880s with school tracts and railroad scrips. A a result of new state taxes on land Swenson leased his West Texas land to his sons Eric Pierson and Swen Albin in 1882. Eric and Swen formed the Swenson Brothers partnership and by 1885 their ranching operations consisted of 1800 shorthorn and 180 Indiana pure crossbred Hereford-shorthorn cows bearing a distinctive reversed (SMS) cattle brand still in use today. Initially comprised of the Flat Top, Ericksdahl, and Throckmorton ranches, the Swenson family holdings were expanded to include the Tongue River Ranch in 1900 and the Spur Ranch in 1906, making it one of the largest ranches in Texas with over 500,000 acres. Swenson Land & Cattle Company, incorporated in 1926, established its headquarters here in 1927. It is noted for its introduction of an innovative mail-order system for selling cattle, brush management programs, and integrated ranching operations. The ranch was divided into four separate family-owned corporations in 1978. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.