JA Ranch

Last updated
J A Ranch
Southeast elevation - J A Ranch Headquarters, Main House, Paloduro, Armstrong County, TX HABS tx-3530-A-2.tif
HABS photo, 2000
USA Texas location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Palo Duro, Texas
Coordinates 34°49′0″N101°11′17″W / 34.81667°N 101.18806°W / 34.81667; -101.18806 Coordinates: 34°49′0″N101°11′17″W / 34.81667°N 101.18806°W / 34.81667; -101.18806
Area40 acres (16 ha)
Built1879 (1879)
NRHP reference No. 66000807 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLDecember 19, 1960

The JA Ranch is a historic cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon in Armstrong County, Texas. Founded in 1876 by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair, [2] it is the oldest cattle ranching operation in the Texas Panhandle. Its headquarters area was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its association with Goodnight, one of the most influential cattle barons of the late 19th century. The ranch is an ongoing business, operated by Adair's descendants.

Contents

Description and history

The JA Ranch is located southeast of Amarillo, Texas in the Texas Panhandle. The main ranch house, now a museum devoted to Charles Goodnight, is located a short way south of United States Route 287. It is a two-story construction, its oldest portion a log cabin which predates the American Civil War. The main portion of the house, built beginning in 1879, has rough stone walls on the ground floor and a wood-framed second story. Nearby outbuildings include the original 19th-century stables and corral, and a house for bunking ranch hands. [3]

Charles Goodnight (1836-1929) was a native of Illinois who became a Texas Ranger in 1857. After the American Civil War, he became involved in cattle herding operations that recovered many thousands of heads of cattle left unsupervised during the conflict, blazing major herding trails across West Texas. After starting a ranching operation in eastern Colorado, he returned to the Palo Duro Canyon area (site of a major operation he led against the Kiowa and Comanche), and established a small ranch in 1874. He then entered into a partnership with John Adair, an Ulster Scots immigrant, who funded the ranch's expansion while Goodnight managed it. Under his oversight the ranch grew to over 700,000 acres (2,800 km2). He retired to a smaller ranch nearby in 1889. [3]

See also

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References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Commission, Texas Historical. "Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site | THC.Texas.gov - Texas Historical Commission". www.thc.texas.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  3. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: J A Ranch". National Park Service . Retrieved November 17, 2019. With accompanying pictures