Photographic glimpses into our past can be hard to come by. These images from the Register taken in spring of 1940 show a little piece of what a roundup was like in Texas. Specifically, they were taken at Pitchfork Ranch, a huge 118 acre establishment near Guthrie, Texas, which is in between Lubbock and Wichita Falls. The caption describes some of the different tasks the cowboys were doing.
The practice of branding is so ubiquitous with the West. It has actually been around since Ancient Egypt times, which is fitting because many of the brands look like hieroglyphs. It’s a unique language, a code, to mark cattle ownership and deter thievery. When open range was the norm, these brands were very important. Today, even the best barbed wire fences can break and cows can get out through a variety of ways, and identification still matters. However, if you take a closer look, most cattle in this area have ear tags instead of brands.
The image above shows an interesting list of unusual brands used throughout the Southwest. It came from the Amarillo Sunday News and Globe and was printed in 1938. It is also available to view in person here in the Cooke County Library. While cattle brands are becoming a piece of the past, they can be a fun conversation starter at your next family gathering. For instance, this author’s grandfather used a rocking 7R brand. Pieces of family history like this are fragile, and are part of what makes being a Texan so special.
This project is made possible by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and with the help of UNT Libraries.
Gainesville Daily Register Digitization Project 