Pitchfork Ranch

The Pitchfork Ranch, established in 1883, encompasses some 181,000 acres (73,000 ha) in Dickens and King counties in West Texas, in the United States, with an annex in Jefferson County in southern Oklahoma. Previous properties in Kansas and Wyoming have been since sold.

Officially known as the Pitchfork Land & Cattle Company of St. Louis, Missouri, the ranch runs commercial cattle: Angus and Herefords as well as the “black baldy”, a term which refers to the cross-breeding of Angus and Hereford. There are also South Texas crossbreds. The Pitchfork boasts 113 windmills, 80 pastures enclosed by more than 300 miles (480 km) of fence, and 5,000 cows and bulls. The ranch has never sold an acre in Texas but has slowly expanded from its original 52,500 acres (21,200 ha). The Pitchfork is also unlike most ranches in that it is larger today than when it was established, whereas most large ranches have followed the opposite course over the years and sold off acreage.

Known for its natural beauty, the ranch is featured in a photographic book Pitchfork Country by its past manager Bob Moorhouse, a member of the ranch board of directors. It is open to the public for hunting and for organized tours.

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.

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