Cattlemen and Cowboys of New Mexico

Profiles of beef cattle people connected to New Mexico.

• 1896-1980Albert Knell MitchellA New Mexico cattleman who took over management of the Bell Ranch in 1931 and raised a daughter who became a rancher…New Mexico
• est. 1850sBell RanchRoughly 290,000 deeded acres near Tucumcari, descended from a Mexican land grant and still run as a working cattle…New Mexico
• 1860-1933Charles M. O'DonelA Sandhurst graduate turned Texas cowboy ran the Bell Ranch for over three decades.New Mexico
• 1858-1933Charles SpringerAn Iowa-born rancher who came to Cimarron in 1878 and became a cattleman, irrigation advocate and public figure in…New Mexico
• 1851-1922George McJunkinA former slave turned ranch foreman noticed ancient bison bones in a flooded arroyo and pushed scientists to look.New Mexico
• 1867-1953Holm O. BursumAn Iowa-born livestock man who built a public career in New Mexico from the territorial senate to Washington.New Mexico
• 1919-2001J. Leslie "Les" DavisA Dartmouth-educated easterner who answered his grandfather's call, stayed at the CS Ranch and raised six children…New Mexico
• 1862-1951James Fielding HinkleA Missouri-born cattleman who built a business in Roswell and rose from county commissioner to governor.New Mexico
• 1824-1884John Simpson ChisumA Texas contractor turned trail driver who built one of the largest cattle operations on the Pecos River.New Mexico
• 1878Lincoln County WarA fight over credit, insurance and government beef contracts turned into a shooting war in Lincoln County.New Mexico
• 1930-2024Linda Mitchell DavisA Colorado-born rancher raised on New Mexico's Tequesquite and Bell ranches, she ran the CS Ranch near Cimarron for…New Mexico
• 1818-1875Lucien B. MaxwellA frontier scout who became one of the largest private landowners in American history, then sold the grant and moved…New Mexico
• est. 1841Maxwell Land GrantFrom a 1841 Mexican grant to Lucien Maxwell's beef contracts and a company-versus-settlers war, one tract shaped…New Mexico
• 1845-1931Susan McSween BarberWidowed in the Lincoln County War, McSween started with 40 head from John Chisum and built the Three Rivers ranch into…New Mexico
• 1863-1934Thomas Edward MitchellA trail cutter who bought out a free-range cattle company's land and built a registered Hereford ranch in northeastern…New Mexico
• est. 1848UU Bar RanchNext door to Philmont Scout Ranch, the UU Bar occupies part of the old Maxwell Land Grant and claims cattle on the…New Mexico
• est. 1902Vermejo Park RanchOnce a private hunting club and a Pennzoil cattle ranch, the old Vermejo Park Ranch is now a conservation reserve of…New Mexico
• 1863-1930Victor CulbersonA Southwest cattleman who lived through the open range era and the shift to managed ranches in New Mexico.New Mexico