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Dave D. Payne: A Texas Panhandle Cattleman Who Ranched to 87

A cattleman who started with one cow at age 12 and worked the Panhandle range for nearly seven decades.

Who was Dave D. Payne?

Dave D. Payne was born November 25, 1871, in Cooke County, Texas, and died May 25, 1969, at age 97, according to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum profile. His father, Robert Treat Payne, was an early Texas settler who later moved the family to Greer County, Oklahoma.

The museum inducted him into its Hall of Great Westerners in 1971, two years after his death. The documented record on Payne is short, so this profile stays close to what that biography states and fills out the setting with sourced history of the Panhandle.

How did Dave Payne start ranching?

The museum says Payne used his earnings at age 12 to buy his first cow. In 1890 he moved to Mobeetie, Texas, to help manage his father's cattle, which began his ranching career. He was in his late teens.

In 1908 he married Jennie Smith. The couple lived in a dugout on their land for a year before building a home. In 1914 he bought a Ford sedan, which made trips to town more frequent, a small sign of how ranch life was changing in the early twentieth century.

The Triple Y brand

In 1924 Payne switched his cattle brand from "BP" to "Triple Y," which he used for 24 years. A brand was a rancher's legal mark of ownership, and changing one was a notable step. The sources do not say why he made the change.

The Panhandle Payne worked in

A Texas historical marker for the Amarillo Livestock Auction says Native Americans were expelled from the region between 1874 and 1878, buffalo herds were wiped out and ranches were established. Longhorns were driven to Dodge City for shipment, and when railroads arrived ranchmen rode the cattle trains to tend herds headed to market. Amarillo became the nation's largest rural cattle shipping point from 1892 to 1897.

Payne's move to Mobeetie in 1890 fell in the middle of that story. A profile of the nearby Alexander Ranch in Hemphill County shows the same era: that family arrived in 1886, lived first in a dugout, and sold hay to the Mobeetie Army Post and the Santa Fe Railroad. The ranch started Herefords in 1902 and put 54 registered cattle at the base of its herd in 1909.

The comparison is context only, since the Alexander Ranch was a different operation. It does show how a Panhandle rancher of Payne's generation moved from dugouts and open range to fenced pasture, registered stock and rail shipping.

The Key to Payne's Success

The record of Payne's methods is thin, so the lessons below stick to what the biography documents: persistence and a very long working life.

  • He started young, buying a cow with his own earnings at 12 and helping run cattle by 18.
  • He began inside a family operation, learning the business under his father in the Mobeetie area.
  • He stayed in one region for decades, moving from a dugout to a house of his own.
  • He kept his own mark, changing the BP brand to Triple Y in 1924 and running it for 24 years.
  • He worked late in life, retiring from ranching only in 1958 at age 87.

Later life, honors and legacy

Payne built a home in Miami, Texas, in 1929. His wife Jennie died in 1936, and in 1940 he married Nona Shelton Wilcoxon. He retired in 1958 and died in 1969.

The 1971 induction placed him in a hall that honors people of the American West. The museum biography is the main source for his life, and fuller family histories may add detail. For related stories, see farm.FM's ranching pages and a farm.FM story about Panhandle cattle history.

Timeline

  1. 1871Born in Cooke County, Texas
  2. 1890Moves to Mobeetie to help manage his father's cattle
  3. 1908Marries Jennie Smith
  4. 1914Buys a Ford sedan
  5. 1924Changes his brand from BP to Triple Y
  6. 1929Builds a home in Miami, Texas
  7. 1958Retires from ranching at 87
  8. 1969Dies at age 97
  9. 1971Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dave D. Payne?

Dave D. Payne (1871 to 1969) was a Texas Panhandle cattleman who began managing his father's cattle at Mobeetie in 1890, ranched until 1958 and was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1971.

What was the Triple Y brand?

Triple Y was the cattle brand Payne adopted in 1924, replacing his earlier BP brand. According to the museum biography, he used it for 24 years.

When did Dave Payne retire?

Payne retired from ranching in 1958 at age 87 and died May 25, 1969, at age 97, after nearly seven decades in the cattle business.

What is the Hall of Great Westerners?

It is an honor at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City recognizing people who shaped the American West. Payne was inducted in 1971.

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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