American Cowboy Culture Association

The American Cowboy Culture Association is an organization based in Lubbock, Texas, which seeks to promote and preserve the western history and culture of the late 19th and early 20th century American cowboy. Founded in 1989, the association is principally known as a sponsor of the annual National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration. The 2013 symposium was held from September 5 to 8.

The symposium is held at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. It features musicians, storytellers, poets, western authors, film seminars, and chuckwagon cooking. There is a parade, Youth Wild West Day, and Native American activities. The American Cowboy Cultural Awards and the National Championship Chuckwagon Cookoff are announced at the symposium. The symposium is an outgrowth of the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in 1985 in Elko, Nevada. The Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering followed in 1987 at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Similar events were hosted in 1988 in Prescott, Arizona, and in 1989 in Roswell, New Mexico. Alvin Glenn Davis (born 1927), as a cowboy poet, attended the event in Alpine and decided to launch a comparable exposition in Lubbock. The first symposium was held from June 2-4, 1989, on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

The symposium recognizes those who have contributed to western culture through art, crafts, and ranch work. Awards are presented to those found to best represent the life of a cowboy. In 1999, the Pitchfork Ranch in Guthrie won the annual Ranching Award. The Pitchfork is a 165,000-acre spread established in 1870 and is still operational, encompassing land in both King and Dickens counties. Bill Cauble of Albany in Shackelford County won the Chuckwagon Award. Cauble has been known for decades for his outdoor cooking and was an organizer in 1991 of the Western Chuck Wagon Association.

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