urn:taro:utexas.cah.01339 A Guide to the Swenson Land and Cattle Company Papers, 1902-1932 Original EAD encoding by Lauren Algee according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. November 2009 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Swenson Land and Cattle Company Swenson Land and Cattle Company Papers 1902-1932 Materials are written in English. 7 ft. 8 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,The University of Texas at Austin The papers consist of printed material, ledgers and diaries related to the business of the Swenson Land and Cattle Company between 1902 and 1932, including a memoir by ranch manager Frank S. Hastings. Biographical Note

The Swenson Land and Cattle Company, formerly SMS Ranches, occupies considerable portions of twelve counties in the lower plains area of West Texas and comprises more than 300,000 acres. The name SMS comes from the initials of the founder, Svante M. Swenson who moved to Texas from Sweden in the 1830s. Swenson began shipments of Texas pecans to the North and East and in 1850 established himself in the general merchandise and banking business at Austin. However, his greatest interest lay in the accumulation of land.

After the Civil War Swenson moved his family to New York City, where he founded a private banking house known as S. M. Swenson and Sons, a precursor to the present First National City Bank of New York, but continued an active interest in Texas. In the 1880s S. M. Swenson leased his holdings to his sons, Eric Pierson Swenson and Swen Albin Swenson, who operated them under the name of Swenson Brothers Cattle Company. The SMS brand, consisting of an extended M sandwiched between two reversed S's, was registered by the Swensons in the spring of 1882.

In 1899 the Swensons enticed the Texas Central Railroad to build through their land and laid out the town of Stamford, which became the nucleus of their West Texas interests. In 1902 the brothers hired Frank S. Hastings as manager of their far-flung ranches. Under Hastings’ direction the SMS was among the first to engage in the "mail order" calf business. In 1926 the Swensons were running 28,000 cattle on 390,000 acres and the business was reorganized as the Swenson Land and Cattle Company. By 1989, an average of 8,500 cattle, mostly Hereford and Angus stock, were sold annually. In addition, hundreds of acres of SMS ranch land were cultivated in hay, oats, and milo, and there were also some oil interests.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "SMS Ranches," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/aps1.html (accessed October 13, 2009).

 Scope and Contents

The papers consist of printed material, ledgers and diaries related to the business of the Swenson Land and Cattle Company between 1902 and 1932, including a memoir by ranch manager Frank S. Hastings. The records additionally address theories and experiences in raising, marketing and shipping Hereford cattle and the economic, political ad social aspects of the area as they affected the cattle industry.

 Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Hastings, Frank S., 1860-1922 Swenson, Eric Pierson Swenson, S. M. (Svante Magnus), 1816-1896 Swenson, Swen Albin Subjects (Organizations) First National City Bank of New York--History. Swenson Land and Cattle Company--History. Subjects Cattle ranches—Texas Land speculation. Texas Central Railroad Company Places Stamford (Tex.) Preferred Citation

Swenson Land and Cattle Company Papers, 1902-1932, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Related Material

See also Swenson-Palm Letter Book, 1863-1873 and Swenson (S. M.) Papers

 Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory: 2G452 Letter presses: 2G452 August-November 1902 2G452 November 1902 – March 1903 2G452 July 1902 – April 1904 2G453 January-August 1904 2G453 April-October 1904 2G453 December 1904 – February 1905 2G453 April-September 1905 2G454 May-September 1906 2G454 January 1906 – March 1907 2G454 March – October 1907 2G454 October 1907 – March 1908 2G455 May-September 1908 2G455 September 1908 – May 1909 2G455 November 1908 – May 1909 2G456 March-October 1909 2G456 October, 1909 – February 1910 2G456 February-June 1910 2G457 June 1910 – January 1911 2G457 January-May 1911 2G457 May-October 1911 2G457 October 1911-March 1912 2G458 March-August 1912 2G458 August-December 1912 2G458 January-May 1913 2G458 May-September 1913 2G459 September 1913 – February 1914 2G459 February-September 1914 2G459 September 1914 – April 1915 2G459 April-November 1915 2G460 November, 1915 – April 1916 2G460 April-November 1916 2G460 November 1916 – June 1917 2G460 June-December 1917 2G461 December 1917 – July 1918 2G461 July 1918 – January 1919 2G461 January-May 1919 2G461 May-October 1919 2G462 October 1919 – April 1920 2G462 April-November 1920 2G462 November 1920 –May 1921 2G463 May-November 1921 2G463 Miscellaneous: 2G463 July 1919 – January 1920 2G463 January-October 1920 2G464 October 1920 – June 1921 2G464 November 1921 – August 1922 2G464 June 1921 – February 1922 2G465 May-August 1922 2G465 November 1923 – March 1924 2G465 September 1923 – November 1932 2G466 February 1922 – June 1924 2G466 Manuscript, “A Ranchman’s Recollections,” by F. S. Hastings 2G466 Diaries: 2G466 1910-1912 2G467 1913-1917 2G467 1918-1920 2G467 1921-1923 2G468 1924-1925 2G468 1926-1927 2G468 1928 2G468 Ledger 4L145 Ledger, 1904-1906 2G469 Stamford Oil Mill Company ledger: 2G469 November 1903 – May 1908 2G469 January 1912 – January 1914 2G469 September 1916 – December 1919 2G470 Stamford Water and Light Company ledger, March 1903 – December 1908