Rocking Chair "Ranche" (1883-1893)
Collingsworth County, Collingsworth County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Owned by Scottish Earls of Aberdeen and Tweedmouth. The headquarters were at Aberdeen (about 7 miles northeast). Starting with 14,745 cattle, the Rocking Chair made profits for a few years, then failed. In north part of county are hills bearing its name. Also, town of Wellington was given that name at wish of rocking chair owners, who had a kinsman die at Waterloo where he was aide to the Duke of Wellington. W.E. Hughes in 1893 bought the land and added it to Mill Iron Ranch. Later the 235 sections were sold to others, to convert to farms and smaller ranches. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Rocking Chair Ranch was a grand experiment in absentee ownership: financed by the Scottish Earls of Aberdeen and Tweedmouth, it ran from 1883 to 1893 out of a headquarters called Aberdeen. Beginning with nearly 15,000 cattle, it turned a profit for a few years before faltering, and the town of Wellington was named at the owners' wish to honor a kinsman who died as an aide to the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo. W. E. Hughes bought the land in 1893, folding it into the Mill Iron Ranch before it was eventually broken into farms and smaller ranches.
Why it matters
The ranch embodies the boom, foreign speculation, and bust of the great open-range cattle era that shaped the American West.
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Related people
- · W. E. Hughes
Themes & tags
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