By: King of Hemphill, et al. H.C.R. No. 51
(Senate Sponsor - Seliger)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2013;
May 6, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
Administration; May 15, 2013, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 15, 2013, sent to printer.)
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The names of certain individuals stand out boldly in
the history of the Lone Star State, and for more than a century, the
life of famed rancher Charles Goodnight has inspired generations of
Texans; and
WHEREAS, Born on March 5, 1836, to Charles and Charlotte
Goodnight in Macoupin County, Illinois, young Charles Goodnight
joined his family in 1845 on the 800-mile journey to Milam County,
Texas, where the boy arrived riding bareback on a white-faced mare
named Blaze; from an early age, he learned the virtue of hard work,
laboring as a farmhand, racing as a jockey, and hauling freight with
teams of oxen; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Goodnight entered into a partnership with his
stepbrother, John Wesley Sheek, in 1856 to raise 400 head of cattle
in the Brazos Valley; in the late 1850s, he met Oliver Loving, and
together the two young men drove a herd to the gold rush camps in
Colorado before the Civil War; during the 1860s, he worked as a
scout for the Texas Rangers, taking part in the Comanche wars and
fighting outlaws along the Colorado and Brazos Rivers; and
WHEREAS, After his service with the Rangers, Mr. Goodnight
returned to the cattle business, and in 1866, he, Mr. Loving, and 18
cowhands drove a herd from Fort Belknap, Texas, to Fort Sumner, New
Mexico, and the route they forged became known as the
Goodnight-Loving Trail, one of the most heavily trafficked cattle
trails in the Southwest; Charles Goodnight is also credited with
inventing the chuck wagon during that legendary drive; and
WHEREAS, In 1870, he married Mary Ann "Molly" Dyer, a
schoolteacher, and the couple settled in Colorado for several years
before returning to Texas; in 1876, he entered into a partnership
with John G. Adair to set up the JA Ranch along Palo Duro Canyon,
with Mr. Goodnight serving as resident manager and part owner of
the operation; over the next 11 years, he increased the ranch's herd
and expanded its range and helped establish law and order in the
Panhandle; he pioneered the use of many new techniques and
inventions, including artificial watering facilities, barbed wire
fences, and the development of Hereford bulls through
crossbreeding; he also created one of the first western
sidesaddles, for use by his wife; and
WHEREAS, From 1887 to 1926, Charles and Molly Goodnight lived
in a spacious, two-story ranch house on the Goodnight Ranch near the
Salt Fork of the Red River; when his wife became distressed at the
decline of the southern herd of native bison, Mr. Goodnight took up
their cause, breeding them on his ranch and shipping buffalo to
Yellowstone National Park and to zoos on the East Coast and in
Europe; he also raised other animals and performed agricultural
experiments with the encouragement of botanist Luther Burbank; and
WHEREAS, Molly Goodnight died in 1926, and Charles Goodnight
followed her three years later at the age of 93, and they are buried
together in the Goodnight Cemetery, not far from the ranch they
called home for nearly 40 years; the descendants of the Goodnights'
buffalo live on as the Official State Bison Herd of Texas at Caprock
Canyons State Park, and the legacy of Charles Goodnight, pioneer,
cattleman, and naturalist, will endure as long as the Lone Star
shines bright over Texas; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby designate March 5 as Charles Goodnight Day; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That in accordance with the provisions of Section
391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remains in effect
until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is passed.
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