Drift Fence
Stinnett, Hutchinson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Famed cattleman Charles Goodnight established one of the first ranches in the Texas Panhandle, the J A Ranch, in 1876. Later that year, Thomas S. Bugbee established the first cattle ranch in Hutchinson County. As a result of soaring beef prices cattle ranching proliferated in this region of the U.S. in the 1880s. The Texas Panhandle, with its open range and expansive grasslands, became the preferred winter grazing site for cattle migrating south from Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This seasonal influx of cattle disrupted the practice of area ranchers who went to great lengths to respect adjacent ranch boundaries. Members of the Panhandle Stock Association pooled their resources and in 1882-85 erected barbed wire barriers along a 200-mile stretch of the Panhandle including Hutchinson County to prevent cattle from drifting south into the fertile Canadian River Valley. The "drift fence" worked too well in the winters of 1886 and 1887 when thousands of cattle moving south ahead of strong storms stalled at the fence line and froze or were trampled to death. The staggering losses prompted federal and state legislation which limited fencing on public lands and the "drift fence" was removed or incorporated into private ranch fencing. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After Charles Goodnight founded the JA Ranch in 1876 and Thomas Bugbee opened Hutchinson County's first spread the same year, soaring beef prices sent cattle pouring across the Panhandle's open grasslands. To keep herds drifting down from the north out of their winter range, members of the Panhandle Stock Association strung barbed wire along a 200-mile "drift fence" in 1882–85. It worked too well: in the brutal winters of 1886 and 1887, cattle fleeing the storms piled against the wire and froze or were trampled by the thousands, and the staggering losses helped spur laws limiting fences on public land.
Why it matters
The drift fence marks the moment barbed wire closed the open range, a turning point that reshaped western ranching and the law of the land.
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Related people
- · Charles Goodnight
- · Thomas S. Bugbee
Related events
- · Big Die-Up of 1886–1887
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Drift Fence
Stinnett, TX
After Charles Goodnight founded the JA Ranch in 1876 and Thomas S. Bugbee established Hutchinson County's first ranch soon after, soaring beef prices sent cattle streaming into the Texas Panhandle's open grasslands. To keep migrating herds from drifting into their winter range, members of the Panhandle Stock Association strung a 200-mile barbed-wire "drift fence" in 1882-85. It worked too well: in the fierce winters of 1886 and 1887 thousands of cattle piling against the wire froze or were trampled, and the staggering losses spurred laws limiting fences on public land.
Site of Historic Drift Fence
Sunray, TX
Before the mid-1880s the open Texas Panhandle had no range fences, so winter blizzards drove cattle from Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas south onto Texas ranches, overgrazing the Canadian River breaks and mixing herds. To stop the costly spring sorting, ranchers with brands like the Turkey Track, Bar C, and LIT joined to build a single drift fence along their northern lines — a four-strand, four-barb barrier some 200 miles long, running from the Panhandle's corner into New Mexico. Built from roughly 65 carloads of wire and posts hauled from Dodge City, most of it was torn down by 1890 to comply with a state law against fencing public land.
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