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Cattle Breeders and Breed Pioneers

Lucas Charles Brite: The Hereford Breeder of Capote Peak and Marfa

Luke Brite drove a herd to the foot of Capote Mountain in 1885 and built a ranch whose Hereford bulls won the Cudahy Trophy twice.

Who was Lucas Charles Brite?

Lucas Charles Brite was born on 29 July 1860 in Caldwell County, Texas, and died on 4 September 1941. People called him Luke or L.C., and the museum's biography, the Hall of Great Westerners entry, lists him as Lucas Charles Brite II. He became a leading Hereford breeder in the Big Bend country of West Texas.

He was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1997.

How did Brite start his ranch?

In 1885, at age 25, Brite joined a cattle drive west from Frio County and settled his herd at the foot of Capote Mountain in Presidio County, according to the Brite Ranch history page. The museum says he built the ranch at Capote Peak until it reached 125,000 acres.

He and his wife Eddie also helped build the First Christian Church in Marfa, and he moved to Marfa in 1902 after living at Capote Peak. The museum says he joined that church in 1897. The ranch history adds that the family still owns and operates the ranch, which gives the place unusual continuity for a West Texas property founded in the 1880s.

Where is Brite Ranch?

The ranch lies in Presidio County, in the dry country of the Big Bend region. The ranch history notes that troops left Fort Davis in 1891 for lack of need, and that Camp Marfa was established in 1913 as headquarters of the Big Bend Military District.

Those details show how quickly the area changed from frontier to settled ranching country during his lifetime. When Brite arrived in 1885 the country was still open range with a military presence nearby. By the time he died in 1941 it had a town, a church, a military district headquarters and organized stockmen's associations, and his ranch was one of the large, long-lived operations in it.

How did Brite build his Hereford herd?

He bought registered heifers from the Wyoming Hereford Ranch and bulls from Gudgell and Simpson. In 1915, during a hoof-and-mouth epidemic, he closed the herd and began raising his own bulls, developing a pasture-based line-breeding system that the ranch still uses.

His cattle won the Cudahy Trophy in 1922 and 1925. He shipped thousands of bulls, and in 1918 he helped organize the Highland Hereford Breeders Association.

The Christmas Day raid of 1917

On Christmas Day 1917 a group of Mexican bandits raided the ranch headquarters. The raid led to a small fort being built at the ranch and a Texas Ranger being stationed there for a year.

The sources do not give details of casualties or aftermath, so none are given here. What they do show is that the raid was serious enough to change the ranch's defenses: a small fort at headquarters and a ranger posted for a full year. Border violence of this kind shaped ranch life in the Big Bend during the years around the First World War, and the Brite headquarters became part of that story.

The Key to Brite's Success

Brite's success rested on buying good foundation stock, closing the herd to protect it, and then breeding his own bulls for a pasture-based system. He also took leadership roles in the stockmen's organizations.

The sources do not cover finances, labor or the ranch's effect on the land, so those are left aside.

  • Start with proven blood: registered heifers from the Wyoming Hereford Ranch and bulls from Gudgell and Simpson.
  • Close the herd in a crisis: in 1915 he stopped buying and bred his own bulls during the hoof-and-mouth epidemic.
  • Breed for the pasture: his line-breeding system was built around grazing and is still in use.
  • Compete: his cattle won the Cudahy Trophy in 1922 and 1925.
  • Organize: he helped found the Highland Hereford Breeders Association in 1918.
  • Lead: he served as president of two stockmen's associations.

Legacy and the Hall of Great Westerners

The ranch is family owned and operated five generations later. The hall that inducted him in 1997 is described on a Hall of Great Westerners inductee page, which lists the honorees by year.

The ranch history says the pasture-based line-breeding system he developed is still used there today, which is a rare case of a breeding method outliving its founder by generations.

Visit or learn more

Read more cattle history at farm.FM's ranching section, or try a farm.FM story on Texas Hereford ranching.

Timeline

  1. 1860Born in Caldwell County, 29 July
  2. 1885Drives a herd west and settles at Capote Mountain, Presidio County
  3. 1902Moves to Marfa
  4. 1915Closes his Hereford herd during a hoof-and-mouth epidemic
  5. 1917Raid on the ranch headquarters on Christmas Day
  6. 1918Helps organize the Highland Hereford Breeders Association
  7. 1922Cattle win the Cudahy Trophy (again in 1925)
  8. 1941Dies on 4 September
  9. 1997Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who was L.C. Brite?

Lucas Charles Brite (1860-1941) was a West Texas rancher who built Brite Ranch in Presidio County and bred champion Hereford cattle near Marfa.

How big was Brite Ranch?

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum says the ranch grew to 125,000 acres. It remains family owned and operated five generations later.

What breed did L.C. Brite raise?

He bred Hereford cattle. His herd won the Cudahy Trophy in 1922 and 1925, and he shipped thousands of bulls.

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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