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Famous Ranches and Stations

JA Ranch: The Palo Duro Canyon Ranch That Is Still Run by One Family

Founded by a Texas cattleman and an English investor, the JA grew to more than a million acres and is still working cattle country.

How the JA Ranch Began

The JA story begins with a buffalo hunt. According to the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers article on the JA, John and Cornelia Adair joined a Colorado hunt guided by Charles Goodnight in 1874, and Goodnight told them about Palo Duro Canyon. Goodnight drove about 1,600 Longhorns to the canyon in 1876, per the Texas Parks and Wildlife history of the canyon.

Sources differ on the founding year. The TSCRA article says 1876, and Texas Parks and Wildlife says Goodnight and Adair, an English aristocrat, founded the ranch in 1877. Either way the JA is described as the oldest ranch in the Texas Panhandle.

What Were the Terms of the Goodnight and Adair Partnership?

Adair supplied the capital and Goodnight supplied the know-how. Goodnight held one-third of the partnership and Adair two-thirds, with Goodnight also drawing a salary and Adair receiving interest on his capital. The deal ran two five-year terms and dissolved in 1887.

John Adair died in 1885, and his initials remain the brand. His widow Cornelia stayed involved in the ranch and became Goodnight's partner, per Texas Parks and Wildlife.

How Big Was the JA Ranch?

At its peak in 1885 the ranch grazed 100,000 cattle on 1,325,000 acres across the Panhandle. Most of Palo Duro Canyon belonged to the JA until 1890. When the partners split in 1887, Goodnight scaled back his ranching and took 140,000 acres and about 20,000 cattle, according to the TSCRA article, and the JA continued under the Adair family.

The Land Before the Ranch

The canyon was not empty when Goodnight arrived. On September 28, 1874, Col. Ranald Mackenzie and the 4th U.S. Cavalry attacked a camp of Comanches, Kiowas and Cheyennes there during the Red River War. Troops captured about 1,400 ponies, shot most of them and burned the lodges and winter stores, and the families returned to the reservation. Texas Parks and Wildlife states that Native control of the Panhandle plains ended soon after, which opened the grass the JA used.

The Key to the JA's Staying Power

The JA has outlasted most of the great Panhandle ranches because it stayed in one family and stayed focused. The TSCRA article reports that the ranch operates solely on cattle income and has been under continuous ownership by one family for 141 years.

  • Adair's capital and Goodnight's range experience were paired in a written split of ownership and salary.
  • The partners agreed to a fixed term and then divided the land rather than fight over it.
  • Cornelia Adair kept the ranch in the family after her husband died in 1885.
  • Her grandson Montie Ritchie arrived in 1931 at age 21 and was running the ranch by 1935.
  • The ranch brought in breeds other than Longhorns during its first ten years.
  • It keeps a remote, working headquarters rather than relying on a second business.

Cornelia Adair and the Family Line

Cornelia Adair met John Adair in New York City in 1867, after her first husband was killed in the Civil War. She died in England in 1921, and her will called for the ranch to be sold to pay taxes and her heirs, though the family kept it. Montie Ritchie, her grandson, led the ranch until retiring in 1992 and died in 1999. Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie and her son Andrew Bivins continue the family's role in management, per the TSCRA.

Life at the JA Headquarters

The JA has always been a remote operation. The TSCRA's account of life at headquarters says the Palo Duro post office served as the ranch office until 1992, and the nearest school bus stop is 14 miles away on dirt roads. The Red River War, which cleared the canyon of its earlier Native residents, ran from June 1874 to the spring of 1875, only a year or two before Goodnight's herd arrived. The ranch has also kept cattle as its only business, with no second enterprise to cushion the bad years, a point the TSCRA stresses as a source of pride.

Visit or Learn More

The ranch is private, but Palo Duro Canyon State Park shares the canyon's story. For more on cattle country, see the farm.FM ranching section and a farm.FM story about Charles Goodnight and the JA.

Timeline

  1. 1874Adairs join a Colorado buffalo hunt led by Goodnight; Battle of Palo Duro Canyon on September 28
  2. 1876Goodnight drives about 1,600 Longhorns to Palo Duro Canyon
  3. 1877Goodnight and Adair found the JA Ranch (Texas Parks and Wildlife date)
  4. 1885Ranch peaks at 100,000 cattle on 1,325,000 acres; John Adair dies
  5. 1887Partnership dissolves; Goodnight leaves with 140,000 acres and 20,000 cattle
  6. 1921Cornelia Adair dies in England
  7. 1935Montie Ritchie is running the ranch
  8. 1992Ritchie retires

Frequently asked questions

Who founded the JA Ranch?

Charles Goodnight and English investor John George Adair founded the JA in the Texas Panhandle's Palo Duro Canyon in the mid-1870s. Sources differ on whether the founding year was 1876 or 1877.

What does JA stand for?

The JA brand comes from John Adair's initials. Adair put up most of the money for the ranch, and Goodnight managed it as his partner until the partnership ended in 1887.

Is the JA Ranch still operating?

Yes. The ranch is still run by Adair's descendants and, per the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers, operates solely on cattle income.

How big was the JA Ranch at its peak?

In 1885 it grazed about 100,000 cattle on roughly 1,325,000 acres across the Texas Panhandle, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

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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