JA Ranch - Palo Duro Country

Palo Duro Country

In 1876, a year after the Kiowas and Comanches had been forced onto a reservation, Goodnight became the first cattleman to bring herds onto the Llano Estacado, or the South Plains of West Texas. He drove 1,600 head of longhorns from Pueblo, Colorado, to the Palo Duro to establish the "Old Home Ranch" near the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River in southwestern Armstrong County near the site where United States Army Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie (1840–1889) had fought the Indians in 1874 in what is called the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon. Goodnight's ranch consisted of corrals and picket houses built from timber cut in the canyon.

Goodnight outfitted his men and cattle for the winter and returned to Colorado to bring his first wife, the former Mary Ann “Molly” Dyer, a teacher from Weatherford in Parker County west of Fort Worth, to their new homestead. The Goodnights, the Adairs, and four cowboys, arrived at the Old Home Ranch with breeding bulls and ranching provisions. On June 18, 1877, Goodnight and Adair inked their five-year partnership, which stipulated that Adair would supply the capital and, at Goodnight’s suggestion, the "JA" initials, and Goodnight would provide the daily management. The agreement called for Adair to receive two-thirds of the property and profits. Goodnight would receive the other one-third plus an annual salary of $2,500. Goodnight borrowed his third of the investment from Adair at 10 percent interest. The ranch began with a meager 1,500 cattle and 2,500 acres (10 km2).