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

Working Cowboys, Cowgirls and Stockmen

Captain G. W. Arrington: Texas Ranger, Panhandle Sheriff and Ranch Manager

A Frontier Battalion captain who cleared rustlers from the Panhandle later ran one of its big British-owned ranches.

Who was Captain G. W. Arrington?

Captain George Washington Arrington, known as Cap, was one of the most prominent lawmen of the Texas Panhandle in the 1870s and 1880s, and later a ranch manager. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him into the Hall of Great Westerners in 2003.

His story crosses two worlds that ranching depended on: law enforcement on the open range, and the management of a large foreign-owned cattle outfit. Both roles tied him to the cattle business of the Panhandle.

Early life and the name change

Arrington was born in 1844 in Greensboro, Alabama, as John C. Orrick Jr. The Cowboy Museum says he adopted the name Arrington after the Civil War. A biographical article on Petticoats and Pistols says he enlisted in the Confederate Army at sixteen and, in one account, was a Confederate spy.

The same article states that in 1867 he killed a businessman in his hometown, then went on the run and moved to Texas under a new name. That is a single secondary account and should be read as such. The Cowboy Museum describes only a troubled past.

How did Arrington become a Texas Ranger?

The Texas Historical Commission marker record also covers him. He enlisted in Company E of the newly organized Frontier Battalion in 1875. About two years later he was promoted to captain of Company C, reportedly for tracking fugitives and outlaws. He rose through the ranks, earned the nickname Cap, and led missions in the Rio Grande Valley and the Panhandle before leaving the Rangers in 1882.

In 1879 his company moved to the Texas Panhandle to investigate ranch depredations. He established the first Ranger camp in the Panhandle and later broke up a major rustling ring, according to Petticoats and Pistols. Cattle theft was a pressing concern for the ranchers who were just moving onto the Panhandle grass.

Sheriff of Wheeler County

After leaving the Rangers he served as sheriff of Wheeler County and surrounding areas, working from Mobeetie. The Cowboy Museum calls him the iron-handed man of the Panhandle. In 1886 he fatally shot a suspected cattle rustler and was acquitted on self-defense grounds.

He and his wife Sara Burnette had ten children, and the first two were born in the Old Mobeetie Jail, according to Petticoats and Pistols.

Managing the Rocking Chair Ranch

After the sheriff's office, Arrington managed the Rocking Chair Ranch for British investors, improving operations until 1896, according to the Cowboy Museum. Petticoats and Pistols says he stayed until the ranch was sold to a large conglomerate, and that he later bought his own ranch south of Canadian, Texas.

The sources I could open do not give herd sizes or acreage for the Rocking Chair under his management, so this profile does not state them.

The Key to Arrington's Career

Arrington's record shows how a lawman could become a ranch manager when ranchers wanted order on the range. It also shows the costs of that era's frontier justice, since his reputation rested on force.

  • He moved with the frontier. He joined the Rangers in 1875 and took his company into the Panhandle in 1879, when ranches were being established there.
  • He targeted organized rustling, breaking up what Petticoats and Pistols calls a major ring, which protected ranchers' herds.
  • He stayed in the region after leaving the Rangers, serving as sheriff from Mobeetie and building local standing.
  • He applied that standing to ranch management, running the Rocking Chair for British investors until 1896.
  • He ended as an owner, buying his own ranch south of Canadian, Texas.
  • The limits are documented: his 1886 shooting of a suspected rustler ended in acquittal on self-defense grounds, and the Petticoats and Pistols account describes an earlier murder charge from 1867.

Death and legacy

Arrington died on March 31, 1923, after a heart attack on a train trip to Mineral Wells for hot baths, and after returning to Canadian. He and his wife are buried in the Old Mobeetie cemetery. His Hall of Great Westerners induction in 2003 recognizes a career that linked the Rangers, the sheriff's office and a Panhandle ranch. For more on the Panhandle's ranching story, see farm.FM's ranching section.

Visit or learn more

Old Mobeetie in Wheeler County is a good starting point for readers who want to see the Panhandle that Arrington policed, and the Texas Historical Commission has a marker record for Captain G. W. Arrington. A farm.FM story about Panhandle ranching history adds more background.

Timeline

  1. 1844Born in Greensboro, Alabama, as John C. Orrick Jr.
  2. 1867According to one account, kills a businessman in his hometown and flees
  3. 1875Enlists in Company E of the Texas Frontier Battalion
  4. 1879His company moves to the Panhandle and sets up the first Ranger camp there
  5. 1882Leaves the Texas Rangers
  6. 1886Fatally shoots a suspected cattle rustler; acquitted on self-defense grounds
  7. 1896Leaves the Rocking Chair Ranch, which he had managed for British investors
  8. 1923Dies March 31 and is buried in the Old Mobeetie cemetery
  9. 2003Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners

Frequently asked questions

Who was Captain G. W. Arrington?

He was a Texas Ranger captain in the Frontier Battalion, later a Wheeler County sheriff based in Mobeetie, and a manager of the Rocking Chair Ranch until 1896.

What was Arrington's birth name?

Both the Cowboy Museum and Petticoats and Pistols say he was born John C. Orrick Jr. in Alabama and took the name Arrington after moving to Texas.

What was the Rocking Chair Ranch?

It was a Panhandle ranch owned by British investors that Arrington managed after serving as sheriff, according to the Cowboy Museum, until 1896.

When was Arrington inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners?

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him in 2003. He died March 31, 1923, and is buried in the Old Mobeetie cemetery.

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