Early Years of The Ranch
The Pitchfork is still operated by descendants of its first financial backer, Eugene F. Williams of St. Louis. It is located 80 miles (130 km) east of Lubbock and 13 miles (21 km) west of Guthrie on U.S. Highway 82. D. B. Gardner and J. S. Godwin bought the three-pronged pitchfork brand as well as the range lands in 1881. The ranch is therefore still sometimes called “The Forks”. In 1882, Godwin sold his interest to Williams. The Pitchfork company was organized in 1883, with Gardner as general manager.
The Pitchfork is one of two West Texas ranches granted fifty-year charters, without having had a change in ownership. Ranch headquarters are located on the Geneva Fork of the Wichita River, which traverses the land from east to west. Several strategically located camps minimize travel and the necessary movement of equipment. All buildings, fences, and improvements are of modern high-grade construction.
Read more about this topic: Pitchfork Ranch
Famous quotes containing the words early years, early and/or years:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“When first we faced, and touching showed
How well we knew the early moves ...”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Well, children, enjoy this all you can, for in four years you may begin to walk over again.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)