F.G. Oxsheer: The Forgotten Cattle King of the Staked Plains
A Central Texas cattleman who built a West Texas ranch network and then watched the end of an era erode his fortune.
Who was F.G. Oxsheer?
Fountain Goodlet Oxsheer lived from 1849 to 1931, per the Texas Historical Commission marker for his Fort Worth house. The Texas Trail of Fame page, which inducted him in 2015, calls him a rancher, businessman and community peace officer. He lived early on in Calvert, in Central Texas, then moved to West Texas.
Sources reviewed offer limited biographical detail, so this profile sets out what is documented and explains the wider setting.
How big was Oxsheer's ranching empire?
The Trail of Fame page says he helped establish the Jumbo Cattle Company and founded ranches on the Llano Estacado, and that he was among the earliest settlers on the Texas High Plains. In the 1890s he held about 30,000 cattle and controlled 1.25 million acres, and with partner C.C. Slaughter he built the largest herd of registered Hereford cattle in the United States on the Oxsheer Ranches.
He was also among the earliest to introduce windmills in the region, a key tool on dry plains where surface water was scarce.
The High Plains setting
The Texas Panhandle that Oxsheer worked beside was shaped quickly. A marker for the Amarillo Livestock Auction says Native Americans were expelled between 1874 and 1878, buffalo herds were wiped out and ranches were established, with longhorns driven to Dodge City. Railroads then changed the cattle trade.
Large holdings were common. The XIT Ranch to the west, for example, spread across ten Panhandle counties, so Oxsheer's 1.25 million acres belonged to a period when ranches were counted in the millions of acres.
The Key to Oxsheer's Success
The Trail of Fame page and the book listing describe a rancher with a code of ethics and a wide network, so the lessons stick to what they say.
- He came in early on the Llano Estacado, settling the High Plains before it filled.
- He built partnerships, including the Jumbo Cattle Company and his Hereford venture with C.C. Slaughter.
- He improved the herd, building the nation's largest registered Hereford herd of the late 1890s.
- He adopted windmills early, opening dry land to cattle.
- He ran a network of ranches from Oklahoma and the Staked Plains into northern Mexico, according to the book listing.
Decline of the cattle king
The Texas A&M University Press listing for Benton R. White's 2000 biography The Forgotten Cattle King says the end of the great ranching era, along with world war, materialism and the Dust Bowl, eroded his renown and fortune. The 172-page book draws on family memorabilia preserved by a descendant.
No figures for the losses appear in the sources reviewed.
The Oxsheer House and Hall of Cattle Kings
In 1916 a house was built for Fountain G. Oxsheer and his wife Mary (1854 to 1937) at 1119 Pennsylvania Avenue in Fort Worth. It is a Prairie School design by William Reed and Sons. The family owned it until the 1970s; it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2019.
The Hall of Cattle Kings of Texas inducted him posthumously in 1936. For related reading, see farm.FM's ranching section and a farm.FM story about Llano Estacado ranching.
Timeline
- 1849Born
- 1890sHolds about 30,000 cattle and 1.25 million acres
- 1916Fort Worth house built for the Oxsheers
- 1931Dies
- 1936Inducted into the Hall of Cattle Kings of Texas
- 2000Biography The Forgotten Cattle King published
- 2015Inducted into the Texas Trail of Fame
Frequently asked questions
Who was F.G. Oxsheer?
Fountain Goodlet Oxsheer (1849 to 1931) was a Texas rancher who helped found the Jumbo Cattle Company, built ranches on the Llano Estacado and bred registered Herefords with C.C. Slaughter.
How much land did Oxsheer control?
The Texas Trail of Fame says he controlled a ranching empire of 1.25 million acres in the 1890s, with about 30,000 cattle.
What is The Forgotten Cattle King?
It is a 2000 Texas A&M University Press biography of Oxsheer by Benton R. White, drawing on family memorabilia and telling how the end of the ranching era eroded his fortune.
Where is the Oxsheer House?
It stands at 1119 Pennsylvania Avenue in Fort Worth, built in 1916, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.
Sources and further reading
- Fountain Goodlet Oxsheer, Texas Trail of Fame
- Fountain G. and Mary Oxsheer House marker, HMDB
- The Forgotten Cattle King, book listing
- Amarillo Livestock Auction marker, HMDB
Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.
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