XIT Ranch
The massive ranch stretched through ten counties in Texas and at its peak regularly handled 150,000 head of cattle.
[3] In 1882, in a special legislative session, the 17th Texas Legislature struck a bargain with Charles B. and John V. Farwell of Chicago, Illinois, under which a syndicate led by the Farwells, with mostly British investors, agreed to build a new Texas State Capitol in Austin and to accept the 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) of Panhandle land as payment.
[4][5][6] The ranch stretched across all or portions of the counties of Dallam, Hartley, Oldham, Deaf Smith, Parmer, Castro, Bailey, Lamb, Cochran, and Hockley.
[7]: 53 Though Mathias Schnell won the contract for constructing the new building in January 1882, by May he had assigned all interest to Taylor, Babcock and Company.
Babcock inspected the capitol tract that same year, setting out from Tascosa on 23 March and arriving at the Yellow Houses on 27 April.
The issue was not settled until John V. Farwell and President William Howard Taft were instrumental in passing a joint resolution in 1911 by Congress honoring the Clark line.
[7]: 52, 57, 59–67 In order to raise the capital needed to fence the ranch, build houses and barns, provide water, and purchase the cattle, John V. Farwell formed the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company, Limited, in London.
Directors of the company included John V. and Charles B. Farwell, Walter Potter, Henry Seton-Karr, Sir William Ewart, Edward M. Denny, Baron Thurlow, and the Marquis of Tweeddale, while the Earl of Aberdeen and Quintin Hogg were trustees.
[7]: 72–73 Company headquarters were located in the northern boundary of the ranch, at Buffalo Springs, with George Findlay directing business.
Each was equipped with residences, cellars, bunkhouses, store rooms, barns, corrals, and two-wagon freight outfit.
[7]: 97–98, 147–150 Campbell's management led to the ranch becoming a "stopping place and rendezvous for a large number of bad men and criminals," in the words of A.L.
[7]: 126–128, 136–137, 141 The original plan of the Capitol Company was colonization, with ranching viewed as a temporary use of the land until farmers arrived.
[3] In 1901, the ranch syndicate began selling off acreage to pay the bonds of the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company, Limited.
In 1904, the ranch started using land and development companies for wholesale purchases, but in 1905, 800,000 acres (3,237 km2) were also divided up into 160 square-mile tracts.
[3][7]: 217 Recognizing that their earlier surveys exceeded the stipulated areas by 2–4 percent, the state of Texas sued the Syndicate in 1918, claiming the excess was 57,840.5 acres (234 km2).
The celebration includes three days of junior and professional (PRCA) rodeo events, the world's largest free barbecue, three nights of live music, a mud bog competition, an antique tractor pull, and other activities.
