Historic Cattle Dipping Vat
Kingsville, Kleberg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1894 this vat-- believed to be the first in the world-- was built to stop the spread of tick fever, which was destroying thousands of U.S. beef cattle. By the 1880s, the disease had become widespread, and official and "shotgun" quarantines prevented cattle from moving across the affected area, bounded by a line from the Rio Grande to the Atlantic. Although the mortality rate from tick fever (also called "Texas" and "Splenetic" fever) sometimes reached 90 percent, longhorns and other native southwestern cattle were immune. They did, however, carry the insect, which could infect other animals. Efforts to eradicate the tick (Margaropus annulatus) centered here, headed by officials from Texas A & M College and the U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry. Manager of the King Ranch, R. J. Kleberg, allowed the vat to be built, and 25,000 tick-infested cattle from the ranch were dipped. An effective formula of oil and sulphur was found here. In October, 1898, the U.S. quarantine was lifted for cattle treated in the dip. This eradication program not only introduced a new weapon for controlling cattle diseases, but also freed the industry from restrictive quarantines, thus increasing the value of cattle throughout the U.S. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1967.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1880s and '90s, tick-borne "Texas fever" was killing beef cattle by the thousands and choking the industry with quarantines drawn from the Rio Grande to the Atlantic. In 1894, on the vast King Ranch, this dipping vat—reputed to be the first of its kind—became the proving ground where scientists from Texas A&M and the U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry tested an oil-and-sulphur formula on 25,000 infested cattle. Their success lifted the federal quarantine in 1898 and gave ranchers a powerful new weapon against livestock disease.
Why it matters
This humble trough marks a turning point in American agricultural science, freeing the cattle industry from crippling quarantines and pioneering methods still used to fight animal disease.
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Related people
- · R. J. Kleberg
Related events
- · Texas fever eradication program
Themes & tags
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