Descriptive Summary
Pitchfork Land and Cattle
Company
Pitchfork Land and
Cattle Company Records,
1837-1983 and undated
The records pertain to
the Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company, which was incorporated in 1883 and
headquartered near Guthrie, Texas.
S 803.1
Southwest Collection/Special Collections
Library, Texas Tech University
27 boxes and 9 ledgers
(30.0 linear feet)
English.
Biographical Sketch
Organized in 1881 by D.B. Gardner and Eugene F. Williams, it was
incorporated in 1883 as the Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company. The ranch is
headquartered near Guthrie, Texas, and also operated divisions near Laramie,
Wyoming, and Eskridge, Kansas.
The ranch used a three-pronged symbol that looked like a pitchfork.
The succession of general managers for the ranch was as follows: D. B. Gardner
served from 1883 until his death in 1928; from 1928-1930, A. Lambert managed
the ranch; Virgil V. Parr ran the ranch from 1930-1940; Rudolph Swenson served
a short term from 1940-1942; and the well-known D. Burns was ranch manager for
the Pitchfork Ranch from 1942-1965. Burns received a lifetime award in 1960
from the Texas Hereford Association
Scope and Contents
The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial
material, maps and charts, diaries, scrapbook material, printed material, news
releases, speeches, minutes and agenda, literary production, news clippings,
and photographs. A portion of the collection (1,170 leaves) is available on
microfilm. Also included are Virgil V. Parr's papers concerning his tenure on
the Wichita School Board from 1931-1933.
Index Terms
The subject headings used by the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library are derived from the Library of Congress and/or locally
developed.
Subjects (Persons)
Burns, D. (Douglas R.),
1895-1977
Burns family
Humphreys, Jim
Subjects (Organizations)
Pitchfork Land and Cattle
Company
Places
6666 Ranch
(Tex.)
Eskridge
(Kan.)
Guthrie
(Tex.)--History
J.A. Ranch
(Tex.)
Laramie (Wyo.)
Pitchfork Ranch
(Tex.)
Pitchfork Ranch
(Tex.)--Social life and customs
Saint Louis
(Mo.)
SMS Ranch
(Tex.)
Spur Ranch
(Tex.)
XIT Ranch
(Tex.)
Subjects
Animals--Texas--Pitchfork
Ranch
Cattle--Marking--Texas--Pitchfork Ranch
Cattle--Texas
Cattle--Texas,
West
Cattle--Breeding
Cattle--Breeding--Texas--Pitchfork Ranch.
Cattle--Feeding and
feeds--Texas--Pitchfork Ranch
Cattle trade
Cattle
trade--Texas
Cowboys--Texas,
West
Cutting horses
Horse trading
Horses
Horses--Breeding
Horses--Texas--Pitchfork
Ranch
Livestock--Texas--Pitchfork
Ranch
Ranch
life--Texas--Pitchfork Ranch
Ranch
managers--Texas--History
Ranches--Kansas
Ranches--Texas
Ranches--Wyoming
Ranching--Texas,
West
Acquisition
Gifts, 1969-1977
Access Restrictions
Open for research
Processed by
Abel Ramirez, 2000
Preferred Citation
Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company Records, 1837-1983 and undated,
Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock, Texas
Additional Sources
Murrah, David J.
The Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company: the
First Century. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 1983.
Burns, Mamie Sypert.
This I Can Leave You: A Woman's Day on the
Pitchfork Ranch. College Station: Texas A&M University Press,
1986.
Cox, James.
Historical and Biographical Record of the
Cattle Industry. 2 vols., St. Louis: Woodward and Tiernan Printing,
1894, 1895.
Elliott, Margaret A. History of D. B.
Gardner's Pitchfork.
Panhandle-Plains Historical Review,
vol. 18, 1945.
Hendrix, John M. The Forks.
The Cattleman, March 1939.
The Handbook of Texas has published a more in-depth online
biography of the Pitchfork Ranch at
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/search.html
For related materials located in the Southwest Collection/Special
Collections Library, see the following collections:
- R.J. and Rita Bell and Belinda Sursa oral history interview [sound
recording], 1970s
- Douglas R. Burns oral history interview [sound recording],
1969-1970
- D. (Douglas R.) Burns Papers, 1850-1980
- D. (Douglas R.)Burns Papers, 1940-1976
- Mrs. Walter Chalk oral history interview [sound recording], 1969
- >Gardner, Dan, Papers, 1897
- Virgil V. Parr Papers, 1921-1935
- Elmer Petty oral history interview [sound recording], 1981
- Belinda Sursa and Dave Kinney oral history interview [sound
recording], 1970
Collection Inventory
Correspondence
1
1
General,
1877-1900
1
2
General,
1901-1939
1
3
General,
1916-1917
1
4
General,
1918
1
5
General,
January-June 1919
1
6
General,
July-December 1919
1
7
General,
1920
1
8
General,
1921
1
9
General,
January-July 1922
1
10
General,
August-December 1922
2
1
General,
January-June 1923
2
2
General,
July-December 1923
2
3
General,
January-May 1924
2
4
General,
June-December 1924
2
5
General,
1925
2
6
General,
January-June 1926
2
7
General,
July-December 1926
2
8
General,
January-June 1927
2
9
General,
July-December 1927
2
10
General,
1928-1929
2
11
General,
1930
2
12
General,
1931
2
13
General,
1932-1936
2
14
General,
1937-1938
3
1
General,
January-April 1940
3
2
General,
May-September 1940
3
3
General,
October-December 1940
3
4
General,
January-March 1941
3
5
General,
April-June 1941
3
6
General,
July-September 1941
3
7
General,
October-December 1941
3
8
General,
undated
3
9
General,
1942
4
1
General,
1924-1946
4
2
General,
1946-1948
4
3
General,
1949-1950
4
4
General,
1950-1951
5
1
General,
1951
5
2
General,
1952
5
3
General,
1952-1953
5
4
General,
1953-1954
6
1
General,
1954-1955
6
2
General,
1955-1956
6
3
General,
1956-1957
6
4
General,
1957-1958
7
1
General,
1958-1959
7
2
General,
1959-1960
7
3
General,
1963-1967 and undated
7
4
General,
1967-1968
8
1
General,
1960-1961
8
2
General,
1962
8
3
General,
1962
8
4
General,
1964-1965
9
1
General,
1961
Specific
9
2
Accounting Department (Ranch),
1929-1931
9
3
Acreage Allowances,
1957-1962
9
4
Ad Layouts,
undated
9
5
Agriculture Conservation Program,
1945-1958
9
6
Animal Health Records,
1946-1965 and undated
9
7
Associations,
1945-1965 and undated
9
8
Associations,
1945-1965 and undated
9
9
Bookkeeping Department, St. Louis,
1942-1952
10
1
Bookkeeping Department, St. Louis,
1953-1957
10
2
Bookkeeping Department, St. Louis,
1958-1960
10
3
Bookkeeping Department, St. Louis,
1961-1962
10
4
Bookkeeping Department, St. Louis,
1962-1964
11
1
Braceros Program,
1958-1962 and undated
11
2
Breeding Records,
1963
11
3
D. Burns,
1947
11
4
D. Burns,
1942-1943
11
5
D. Burns,
1944
12
1
D. Burns,
1944-1947
12
2
D. Burns,
1948-1965 and undated
12
3
D. Burns,
1942-1949
12
4
D. Burns,
1962-1968
12
5
Cattle Shipping Records,
1953
12
6
Cattle Sales,
1934
12
7
Cattle Tallies and Counts,
1930
12
8
Claims,
1930-1933
12
9
Crop Dusting Records,
1950
12
10
Daily Cattle Killing Records,
1955-1961
12
11
Employer's Reports of Injury,
1940-1942
12
12
Eradication of Predatory Animals and Obnoxious Weeds,
1920-1936
12
13
Farm Machinery,
1933
12
14
Farm Operation,
1931
12
15
Freight Rates,
1930-1931
12
16
Gasoline Memoranda,
1937-1939
12
17
Highway #24,
1933
12
18
Land Improvement,
1937
12
19
Land Sales Farms,
1923-1938
12
20
Leases,
1931
12
21
Legal Affairs (W. D. Wilson),
1930-1931
12
22
Livestock,
undated
12
23
Lumber and Construction,
1938
12
24
Meat Curing,
1930
12
25
Miscellaneous,
1883-1962
12
26
Officers,
1935-1936
12
27
Publications,
1930-1931
12
28
Publicity,
1931
12
29
Ranches, etc. for sale,
1930
12
30
Registered Herd,
1931-1932
12
31
St. Louis Union Trust Company,
1954-1976 and undated
12
32
Sales,
1930-1931
12
33
Shipping,
1931
12
34
Texas Cattle Raisers Association,
1930-1931
12
35
Texas Experiment Station,
1930
13
1
E. F. Williams, Sr.,
1942-1944
13
2
E. F. Williams, Sr.,
1944-1947
13
3
E. F. Williams, Sr.,
1948-1953
13
4
E. F. Williams, Sr.,
1953-1954 and undated
13
5
E. F. Sr., E. F. Jr., and Gates Williams,
1954-1957
14
1
E. F. Sr., E. F. Jr., and Gates Williams,
1957-1960 and undated
14
2
Williams, Eugene F. Jr., and Jim Humphrey,
1965-1976 and undated
14
3
Williams, Eugene F. Jr., and Jim Humphrey,
1964-1973 and undated
14
4
Williams, Gates,
1942
14
5
Williams, Eugene, Jr.,
1953-1965
14
6
Williams, Gates,
1942-1951
14
7
Williams, Gates,
1951-1954 and undated
Financial Material
15
1
Braceros Program,
1958-1962 and undated
15
2
Cattle Records: Inventories,
1964-1970
15
3
Cattle Records: Inventories and Sales,
1881-1931
15
4
Cattle Records: Statements of Sale,
1963-1975
15
5
Expense Accounts,
1952-1962
15
6
Expense Accounts,
1962-1965
15
7
Expense Accounts,
1941-1951
15
8
Expenditures,
1929-1965 and undated
15
9
Expenditures,
1963-1973
15
10
Expenses and Depreciation Schedule,
1960-1964
15
11
Employee Data,
1959
15
12
Expenditures,
1915-1919
15
13
Expenditures,
1920-1929
15
14
Expenditures,
1930-1931
15
15
Expenditures,
1932
16
1
Expenditures,
1933
16
2
Expenditures,
1934
16
3
Expenditures,
1935
16
4
Expenditures,
1938
16
5
Expenditures,
1950-1956
16
6
Expenditures,
1960-1969
16
7
Expenditures,
1970-1979
16
8
Expenditures - Account list, Freight Bills, Statements,
1909-1942 and undated
16
9
Expense Account of Virgil V. Parr,
1930-1931
16
10
Feed Records,
1956
16
11
Feedlot Records,
1969-1973
16
12
Flag Ranch Conditions,
1975
16
13
Flag Ranch and Pitchfork Ranch Employees,
1965-1982 and undated
16
14
Freight Bills,
1944-1958
16
15
General,
1946-1963 and undated
16
16
General,
1963-1969 and undated
16
17
Hog Records/Sales,
1963-1972
16
18
Income Statements,
1962-1972
16
19
Insurance,
1960-1963
16
20
Insurance,
1944-1964 and undated
16
21
Insurance: Injury Reports,
1945-1954 and undated
16
22
Insurance: Premiums,
1944-1956
17
1
Insurance: General American Life,
1960-1964
17
2
Inventories: Hog Records,
1963-1972
17
3
Land Appraisal,
1965
17
4
Late Tax Renditions and Assessments,
1939
17
5
Miscellaneous items,
1884
17
6
Miscellaneous Tax Renditions and Assessments,
1929-1932
17
7
Mississippi Valley Trust, Treasury Certificate and
Miscellaneous,
1918-1926 and undated
17
8
Payroll Notes,
undated
17
9
Payrolls,
1939-1957
17
10
Payrolls,
1958-1965
18
1
Payrolls: Indian Payrolls and Expenses,
1954-1957
18
2
Payrolls: Indian Payrolls and Expenses,
1957-1959
18
3
Payrolls: Indian Payrolls and Expenses,
1959-1962
18
4
Payrolls: Mexican,
1958-1959
19
1
Payrolls: Mexican,
1960-1961
19
2
Petty Cash,
1933
19
3
Petty Cash Distribution,
1942-1944
19
4
Purchases, Orders, and Receipts,
1964-1976
19
5
Receipt Note,
1898-1901
19
6
Records of Sales,
1939-1954
19
7
Sales and Expenditures,
1932-1937
19
8
Sales,
1939-1944
19
9
Sales,
1945-1949
19
10
Sales,
1950-1953
20
1
Sales,
1954-1956
20
2
Sales,
1957-1959
20
3
Stockholders, Attempted Purchase,
1983
20
4
Stockholders Meetings,
1969-1980
20
5
Statements of Sales,
1940-1959 and undated
20
6
Tax Notices,
1946 and undated
20
7
Uniform Straight Bill of Lading,
1942-1962 and undated
20
8
Daybook,
1903-1910
20
9
Daybook,
1910-1916
20
10
Land Deeds Record Book,
1899
20
11
Robert M. Ellison Estate Records,
1905-1907
21
1
General Ledgers,
1910-1929
21
2
General Ledgers,
1924-1927
21
3
General Ledgers,
1928
21
4
General Ledgers,
1929-1930
Flag Ranch
22
1
Correspondence,
1952-1959
22
2
Correspondence,
1960-1964 and undated
22
3
Specific,
1965-1976 and undated
22
4
Correspondence on Financial Matters,
1952-1964 and undated
22
5
Legal Material,
1964 and undated
22
6
General: Floor Plans,
1931-1938 and undated
22
7
General: Grain Inspection Certification,
1956
22
8
General: Inventories,
1947-1961
Kilgore and Kilgore
22
9
Correspondence,
1947-1959 and undated
23
1
Correspondence,
1947-1959 and undated
General
23
2
Lespendeza Acreage,
1945
23
3
List,
1953-1954 and undated
23
4
Plato,
1976 and undated
23
5
Stock Shows, Conventions, and Seminars,
1946-1962 and undated
23
6
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station,
1947-1959
23
7
Unemployment Claims,
1946-1958
23
8
United States Department of Agriculture,
1944-1956
Personal Papers
23
9
Chalk, Walker A., Correspondence,
1918-1927
23
10
Gardner, Daniel B.,
1917-1920
23
11
Gardner, Daniel B.,
1921-1923
23
12
Gardner, Daniel B.: Correspondence,
1924-1927 and undated
23
13
Gardner, Daniel B.: Financial Material,
1915-1926
23
14
Unidentified Correspondence,
1917-1927
Legal Documents
Warranty Deeds
23
15
King County, Texas,
1837-1883
23
16
King County, Texas,
1884-1886
23
17
King County, Texas,
1887-1894
23
18
King County, Texas,
1897-1902
23
19
King County, Texas,
1903-1931
23
20
Dickens County, Texas,
1847-1887
24
1
Dickens County, Texas,
1884-1893
24
2
Dickens County, Texas,
1894-1900
24
3
Dickens County, Texas,
1901-1902
24
4
Dickens County, Texas,
1903-1905
24
5
Dickens County, Texas,
1910-1937
Patents
24
6
King County, Texas,
January-March 1876
24
7
King County, Texas,
1875-1883
24
8
King County, Texas,
1876
24
9
King County, Texas,
1878-1892
24
10
King County, Texas,
1902-1931
24
11
Dickens County, Texas,
1876-1877
24
12
Dickens County, Texas,
1877-1878
24
13
Dickens County, Texas,
1880-1883
24
14
Dickens County, Texas,
1883
24
15
Dickens County, Texas,
1892-1925
Abstracts
24
16
King County, Texas,
1895-1922
24
17
King County, Texas,
1924
24
18
King County, Texas,
1927
24
19
King County, Texas,
1927
25
1
King County, Texas,
1928
25
2
King County, Texas,
1929
25
3
King County, Texas,
1929-1931
25
4
Dickens County, Texas,
1898-1910
25
5
Dickens County, Texas,
1924-1927
25
6
Dickens County, Texas,
1927
25
7
Dickens County, Texas,
1928-1929
Tax Receipts
25
8
Dickens County, Texas,
1883-1893
25
9
Dickens County, Texas,
1895-1907
25
10
King County, Texas,
1877-1890
25
11
King County, Texas,
1891-1924
25
12
Quit Claims: Dickens County, Texas,
1883-1897
25
13
Quit Claims: King County, Texas,
1886-1918
25
14
Leases: Dickens County, Texas,
1888-1902
25
15
Releases: Dickens County, Texas,
1901-1902
25
16
Releases: King County, Texas,
1891-1934
25
17
Field Notes: Dickens County, Texas,
1914-1934
25
18
Field Notes: King County, Texas,
undated
25
19
Affidavits and Statements,
1875-1903
25
20
Affidavits and Statements,
1905-1931
25
21
Certificates of Registration,
1945-1953
26
1
Braceros Program,
1958-1962 and undated
26
2
Contracts,
1940-1964
26
3
Deed Envelopes and Notes,
1880-1914 and undated
26
4
General,
1945-1952
Law Suits
26
5
General,
1892-1929
26
6
J. A. Keith v. Pitchfork Land and Cattle
Company,
1901-1905
26
7
J. A. Keith v. Pitchfork Land and Cattle
Compant,
1909-1916
26
8
J. A. Keith v. Pitchfork Land and Cattle
Company,
1917
26
9
Aerial Sprayers, Inc., et. al., v.
Raymond Ring et. al.,
undated
26
10
Dickens School Case,
1933-1936
26
11
Pitchfork Land and Cattle Co. et. al. v.
Raymond King et. al.,
1959-1962
26
12
O. P. Leonard, Trustee, et. al. v. G. R.
Abbot et. al.,
1962
26
13
Lazarus Deed to Pitchfork Ranch,
1884
26
14
Lease Contracts,
1967-1969
26
15
Letter of Patents,
1940
26
16
Miscellaneous Legal,
1857-1880
26
17
Miscellaneous Legal,
1881-1918
26
18
Parents Agreements,
1941-1943
26
19
Releases,
1940-1945
Committees
26
20
List,
1966-1968
26
21
Reports,
undated
Literary Production
26
22
Miscellaneous Articles,
undated
26
23
Ranch Diary,
1957-1964
26
24
Ranch Diaries (2 items),
1953-1957
Live Stock Records
26
25
Feed and Cattle Notes,
1946-1963 and undated
26
26
Horse Records,
1938-1939
26
27
Inventories,
1964-1971
26
28
List of Stockholders,
1965
26
29
Miscellaneous,
1950-1959
26
30
Ultrasonic Measurement,
1966 and undated
Maps and Charts
26
31
Lands of the Pitchfork Ranch,
undated
26
32
Lands of the Pitchfork Ranch,
undated
Memoranda
26
33
Flag Ranch Conditions,
1965-1976
27
1
Minute and Agendas,
1966-1968
27
2
News Clipping,
1966-1974
27
3
News Releases,
1967 and undated
27
4
Printed Material,
undated
27
5
Speeches,
1966-1967
27
6
Aerial Sprayers, Court Appeal Case,
undated
Printed Material
27
7
Commercial Publications,
1942-1960
27
8
Leaflets, Miscellaneous,
1946-1963
27
9
Livestock and Agriculture,
1909-1939
27
10
Pitchfork Ranch Article,
1939
27
11
SMS Ranch Newsclipping,
1968
Scrapbook Material
27
12
Letterheads,
undated
27
13
Miscellaneous,
1946-1963 and undated
27
14
Photographs,unidentified,
undated
Financial Material
27
Ledger 1
General Ledger,
1913-1923
Ledger 2
Day Book,
1916-1927
Ledger 3
Day Book,
1921-1923
Ledger 4
Day Book,
1924-1928
Legal Material
Ledger 5
Transcribed Deeds, King County, Texas,
1887-1901
Ledger 6
Transcribed Deeds, King County, Texas,
1877-1886
Ledger 7
Transcribed Deeds, King County, Texas,
1881-1913
Ledger 8
Transcribed Deeds, King County, Texas,
1896-1908
Ledger 9
Transcribed Deeds of Trust, King County, Texas,
1887-1914
Ledger
10
General Index to Transcribed Deeds,
1877-1914