World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Cattle Barons and Land Owners

George W. Littlefield: Trail Driver, LIT Ranch Founder and Austin Banker

A wounded Confederate major turned cattle trader, Littlefield built the LIT Ranch, then a bank, and became the University of Texas's largest early donor.

Who Was George W. Littlefield?

George Washington Littlefield was born June 21, 1842, in Panola County, Mississippi, and died November 10, 1920, at his home in Austin, Texas. He was a Confederate officer, a cattle trader, a Panhandle and New Mexico ranch owner, a banker and a University of Texas regent.

Most Texans remember him as Major Littlefield, a title he earned in the Civil War. His ranching career, summarized on the LIT Ranch history page, ran from trail herds in the 1870s to the sale of his Panhandle outfit in 1881.

A Wounded Major from Terry's Texas Rangers

In 1861 Littlefield volunteered for the 8th Texas Cavalry, known as Terry's Texas Rangers. He was elected second lieutenant in January 1862 and commanded Company I at the Battle of Shiloh. He was elected captain in May 1862 and after Chickamauga in September 1863 served as acting major and acting leader of the regiment.

He was severely wounded at Mossy Creek in December 1863, promoted to major and later discharged because of the wound.

How Did Littlefield Make Money Trailing Cattle?

After the war Littlefield drove beef cattle from South Texas to Kansas. The LIT Ranch history says that in the 1870s he bought as many as 10,000 cattle at about $8 to $10 a head and drove them to Dodge City, Kansas, where they sold for about $20 to $25. Herding cost about $1.50 per head.

He often contracted cattle for future delivery rather than take the market risk himself. That habit mattered in 1877, when a glut of cattle at Dodge City drove prices down and he went looking for winter range.

Where Did the LIT Ranch Come From?

In fall 1877 Littlefield's employees scouted the Texas Panhandle, and J. Phelps White brought 3,500 cattle to the Canadian River near Tascosa. The page calls it a squatter ranch, saying Littlefield's men never obtained a legitimate claim to the land. Sizes are given two ways: a 240,000-acre spread and a range of about 1,000 square miles, so treat acreage as approximate.

In July 1881 the Prairie Cattle Company, a British syndicate, offered $253,000 for about 14,000 head, 250 saddle horses and the headquarters buildings. Littlefield sold and then began an LFD operation in New Mexico, where one account says his cattle roamed an area about the size of Rhode Island. The Wikipedia entry on the LIT Ranch gives more background.

The Key to Littlefield's Success

Littlefield's documented success rested on timing, contracts and a willingness to turn ranch profits into other businesses. He also shows the cost side: the LIT outfit sat on land it did not legally hold, and his selling price came from a British syndicate rather than from long-term ranching.

He did not stay in cattle. By 1890 he was running a bank in Austin.

  • Buy low, drive far. He bought Texas cattle at $8 to $10 and sold them at Dodge City for $20 to $25.
  • Cap the risk. He often contracted cattle for future delivery.
  • Read the glut. When Dodge City prices fell in 1877, he moved cattle to winter range in the Panhandle.
  • Sell to a buyer with capital. The 1881 Prairie Cattle Company deal turned the Panhandle herds into cash.
  • Move the profit into banking. He founded the American National Bank in Austin and led it for decades.

The American National Bank in Austin

Littlefield organized the American National Bank in Austin and served as its president from 1890 to 1919. The bank commonly paid shareholders a 20 percent annual dividend, a figure that funded much of his later giving.

Banking tied him to Austin, where he lived until his death.

Littlefield and the University of Texas

Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt appointed him a University of Texas regent in 1911. He gave and bequeathed about $3 million to the university, more than any other individual in its first 50 years. In 1914 he established the Littlefield Fund for Southern History. In 1917, after Governor James E. Ferguson vetoed UT's appropriations, he offered to fund the university's operations for the biennium from his own money.

He also paid for the Littlefield Fountain, financed a women's freshman dormitory named for his wife, and willed his residence, the Littlefield House, to the university. For more ranching history see the ranching section on farm.FM or read a story about Panhandle ranching. The Wikipedia biography is a starting point for further reading.

Timeline

  1. 1842Born June 21 in Panola County, Mississippi
  2. 1861Volunteers for the 8th Texas Cavalry
  3. 1863Severely wounded at Mossy Creek
  4. 1877LIT Ranch begins near Tascosa
  5. 1881Sells to the Prairie Cattle Company for $253,000, as reported
  6. 1890Becomes president of the American National Bank
  7. 1911Appointed a University of Texas regent
  8. 1920Dies November 10 in Austin

Frequently asked questions

Who was George W. Littlefield?

George Washington Littlefield (1842-1920) was a Confederate major who became a Texas cattleman, the founder of the LIT Ranch, an Austin banker and the largest early individual donor to the University of Texas.

How big was the LIT Ranch?

Sources give two figures: a 240,000-acre spread and a range of about 1,000 square miles. It was a squatter ranch without a legitimate land claim.

What did Littlefield give to the University of Texas?

He gave and bequeathed about $3 million, funded the Littlefield Fountain, financed a women's dormitory and willed the Littlefield House to the university.

Sources and further reading

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

More from the hall