Murdo MacKenzie: The Scot Who Ran the Matador and Spoke for Western Cattlemen

Who was Murdo MacKenzie?

Murdo MacKenzie was born April 24, 1850, near Tain in Ross-shire, Scotland, and died May 30, 1939, in Denver, Colorado, at 89. He became one of the best-known managers of British-owned ranches in the American West and a national voice for cattle shippers. The Hall of Great Westerners biography describes him as a cattle industry leader and records his 1981 induction.

Details of his day-to-day ranch methods are missing from the sources we could open, so this profile marks that gap and supplies the surrounding history.

A Scottish education and an estate factor's training

MacKenzie attended the parish school and graduated from Tain Royal Academy in 1869. According to the Wikipedia article on MacKenzie, which we use as a lead, he worked in a law office and at the British Linen Bank and then served as factor for Sir Charles Ross's estate at Balnagown Castle.

A factor managed an estate's land, tenants and accounts for its owner. That is much the same task he later did for Scottish investors with American ranches, handling land, livestock and money on behalf of absent owners.

From Trinidad, Colorado to the Matador

MacKenzie sailed to the United States in 1885 to manage the Prairie Land and Cattle Company at Trinidad, Colorado. He became a naturalized citizen and was elected mayor of Trinidad in 1891. That same year he took over the Scots-owned Matador Land and Cattle Company, which he managed twice: from 1891 to 1901 and again from 1922 to 1937.

The timing mattered. British and Scottish money flowed into western ranching in the early 1880s, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota reports that British investors lost about $10 million in English money and $7 to 8 million in Scottish money after the 1886 and 1887 winter and the price slump, though many later recovered capital when herds and land were sold. MacKenzie took charge after that shakeout. Its summary is in the open range study, which covers Dakota and not the Matador itself.

Speaking for stockmen in Washington

MacKenzie was the founding president of the American Stock Growers Association. On its behalf he testified before Congress and the Interstate Commerce Commission. His testimony contributed to the Hepburn Act of 1906, which regulated railroad rates and eased fares for western shippers, according to the museum.

In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to the National Conservation Commission.

Brazil and a second Matador term

MacKenzie later managed the Brazil Land, Cattle and Packing Company, and in 1913 Roosevelt visited him during his Brazil trip. He then returned to the Matador for the 1922 to 1937 term, which means he ran the ranch for roughly twenty-five years across two stints.

The sources do not provide acreage, herd numbers or profits for either period, so we do not give them. The town of Murdo, South Dakota, carries his name.

Learn more

To follow the Matador's story, look for archives such as the Southwest Collection, which lists Matador Land and Cattle Company records. For more on ranch managers, visit the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about the Matador Ranch.