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A.J. Splawn: The Yakima Valley Cattleman Who Brought Herefords West

A trail-drive cowboy turned Hereford breeder, civic organizer and mayor, Splawn helped build the livestock economy of central Washington.

Who Was Andrew Jackson Splawn?

Andrew Jackson Splawn, called A.J. or Jack, was a Pacific Northwest cattleman who moved herds, horses and ideas across what is now Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. According to the Archives West finding aid for the Splawn family, he was born in Missouri in 1845, spent much of his childhood in Linn County, Oregon, and followed his older brother Charles to eastern Washington.

His record falls into three parts: the long trail drives of his youth, a Hereford breeding ranch in the Cowiche Valley, and a second career in organizing livestock shows, water districts, railroads and state politics that began when he left ranching in 1903.

Early Life and First Cattle Drives

At sixteen Splawn was hired as a cowboy by Major John Thorp and went on his first cattle drive, north to Fort Kamloops in British Columbia. The finding aid says he went on to drive cattle in British Columbia, Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon. Those routes fed the mining camps of the interior, a market that other Yakima Valley cattlemen of his generation also served. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's biography of his contemporary Ben Snipes describes Snipes supplying Canadian mining camps and building a herd reported at up to 40,000 head.

In 1870 Splawn established a trading post called Robber's Roost. The finding aid notes that this name was used for the Ellensburg site until 1875, so his post sits at the very beginning of that town's story.

Springdale Ranch and the First Herefords

In the 1880s Splawn bought Springdale Ranch in the Cowiche Valley. The finding aid credits him with importing the first Hereford cattle to the Northwest, and says he exported prize-winning Herefords to Alaska, Hawaii and China. For a ranch in the interior of Washington Territory and later the state, that is a long shipping list, and it shows he was selling breeding stock, not only beef.

He also promoted the Pacific Northwest's first packing house and was an outside partner of Frye and Company of Seattle. The sources I read do not say how much beef moved through either channel, so the scale of those ventures is not documented here.

Yakima Valley Cattle Country in Splawn's Era

Splawn arrived in a valley where cattle had a long local history. The HistoryLink essay on Yakima Valley ranching says Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company sold a few head to Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama in 1840, and that ranching peaked in the 1880s with an estimated 200,000 cattle in the valley. In the summer of 1877 more than 3,000 head were driven from the valley over Snoqualmie Pass toward Puget Sound.

The same essay quotes Splawn's memory of the grass he first saw there, calling it a paradise for stock. That memory helps explain why a young drover from Oregon stayed. For more stories from the working range, the ranching section of farm.FM, farm.FM's ranching coverage, is a good next stop.

The Key to Splawn's Success

Splawn did not rely on one ranch or one market. The documented record shows a man who kept widening the circle around his cattle, first through trail work, then through breeding, then through the institutions that moved and sold livestock.

The costs and limits are worth stating plainly. The pages I read give no herd sizes, acreage or financial results for his own operation. The valley's grass was also the homeland of the Yakama people, and Splawn's later book on Kamiakin is one of the period's accounts of that world.

  • He learned the trade young, driving cattle to Kamloops, Idaho, Montana and eastern Oregon, so he knew several markets rather than one.
  • He upgraded his stock with Herefords at Springdale Ranch and sold prize animals as far away as Alaska, Hawaii and China.
  • He promoted the region's first packing house and partnered with Frye and Company of Seattle, linking range cattle to processing.
  • He organized and became the first president of the Pacific International Livestock Exposition in Portland and led the Washington Livestock Association.
  • He took on infrastructure, serving as first president of the Tieton Water Users' Association and co-founding the Yakima Valley Transportation Co.
  • He served as a livestock agent for the Great Northern Railroad, which put him close to the shipping side of the business.

Politics, Civic Work and the Book Kamiakin

In 1903 Splawn left ranching for politics. He served as a Washington state senator from 1903 to 1905 and ran as the Democratic candidate for governor in 1905. In 1911 he was mayor of North Yakima, where the finding aid says he worked to suppress prostitution and the Chinese opium trade. He was also an organizer and early president of the Washington State Fair and an early member of the Yakima County Horticultural Union.

He wrote Kamiakin, an account of Native peoples in the Pacific Northwest that also draws on his own cattle-driving experiences. After his death, his wife Margaret Splawn, whom he married in 1897, edited the book from his notes and helped republish it in the 1940s.

Legacy and Where to Learn More

Splawn died in March 1917. His name survives mostly through the institutions he helped start, the Hereford herds he helped establish in the Northwest, and the book that preserved his view of the Yakima country. The finding aid at Archives West is the best starting point for his papers and family history.

Readers who want the wider context of Washington ranching can also find a farm.FM story about Washington ranch history on the farm.FM site.

Timeline

  1. 1845Born in Missouri; childhood largely in Linn County, Oregon
  2. c. 1861Hired as a cowboy by Major John Thorp at sixteen; first drive to Fort Kamloops
  3. 1870Establishes the Robber's Roost trading post
  4. 1880sBuys Springdale Ranch in the Cowiche Valley and imports Herefords
  5. 1897Marries Margaret Larsen
  6. 1903Leaves ranching; begins term as Washington state senator
  7. 1905Democratic candidate for governor
  8. 1911Serves as mayor of North Yakima
  9. 1917Dies in March

Frequently asked questions

Who was A.J. Splawn?

Andrew Jackson Splawn (1845 to 1917) was a Washington cattleman, Hereford importer, state senator and mayor of North Yakima, who also wrote the book Kamiakin about Native peoples of the Northwest.

What is A.J. Splawn known for in cattle history?

The Splawn family finding aid credits him with importing the first Hereford cattle to the Northwest from his Springdale Ranch and exporting prize-winning Herefords to Alaska, Hawaii and China.

What organizations did Splawn found or lead?

He was first president of the Pacific International Livestock Exposition, the Tieton Water Users' Association and the Yakima Valley Transportation Co., and an organizer of the Washington State Fair.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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