Timothy Dwight Hobart
Encyclopedia
Timothy Dwight Hobart was a Vermont
-born businessman, landowner, surveyor
, and civic leader in the Texas Panhandle
. He lived primarily in Pampa
, the seat of Gray County, which he had helped to establish in 1902. He was elected mayor
of Pampa in 1927. In his later years, he was the manager of the large JA Ranch
, based in the first third of the 20th century in four counties southeast of Amarillo
: Donley
, Armstrong
, Swisher
, and Briscoe.
in Washington County
near the capital city of Montpelier
in northern Vermont
. He was school superintendent there, when in 1882 he heeded the advice of a cousin
, Ira Hobart Evans
, to relocate to Texas
to work as an agent for the New York and Texas Land Company. At the time, the firm owned some five million acres (20,000 km²) from Brazoria
on the Gulf Coast
to the Panhandle. Hobart arrived in the fall of 1882 in Palestine
, the seat of Anderson County
in east Texas. He worked with a surveying crew under E.A. Giraud in southwestern Texas during an apprenticeship
and learned about Texas climate
, soil, vegetation, and wildlife. Added business compelled that he be shifted to the state capital of Austin
for easier access to official records. In 1886, Evans placed Hobart in complete charge of a million acres (4,000 km²) of open range
in the Panhandle.
in Wheeler County, one of the first three Panhandle settlements. He surveyed, fenced, and improved lands for leasing and subdividing among various cattle
operations. Hobart noted that sales increased where pastures were fenced, and water
was easily available. He devised a plan, approved by Evans, to lease land to large cattle operations for grazing at the rate of four cents an acre and applying the first year’s rental to improvements. Hobart reasoned that the improvements would bring greater profits down the line. Execution of the plan required the stringing of hundreds of miles of barbed wire
, cutting thousands of fence posts, and the digging hundreds of wells
with accompanying windmill
s. There were also earthen dams required to hold the water. The fence posts came from the Palo Duro Canyon
to the south; most were cut by two bachelor
brothers, Ben and Sebe Merry, believed to have been over seven feet tall, who were paid seven to nine cents for each post.
As the number of settlers, some foreigners, increased, so did the demand for smaller tracts. Some of the largest sales included the North Fork Pasture of 190000 acres (768.9 km²), the Sam Lazarus Pasture of 100000 acres (404.7 km²), and the Nick Eaton Range of 88000 acres (356.1 km²). By 1897, most of the large cattle concerns had been divided into smaller units, and large tracts were not so available for leasing. That situation had compelled Charles Goodnight
to end his partnership in the JA in 1888. The leasing of smaller parcels, at from five to eight cents per acre continued to provide funds for improvements. By 1900, the company’s Panhandle lands had been improved and sold at profitable prices ranging from $1.75 to $3 an acre.
, Roberts, Hutchinson
, and Gray counties in the northern Panhandle. From his Gray County headquarters, Hobart surveyed, fenced, improved, and sold land for White Deer until 1924.
Hobart was in charge of recruiting farmer
s to the Panhandle lands, with Henry Thut and Perry LeFors being among the first to purchase such agricultural tracts. Farming communities, including LeFors and Groom, sprang up. The company office was located in the new railroad town of Pampa. The Diamond F Ranch, then consisting of 630000 acres (2,549.5 km²), sold its cattle and leased its land to various cattle outfits. White Deer Lands had succeeded in selling most of the remaining 400000 acres (1,618.7 km²) of land.
The history
of the company, which existed until 1957, is maintained at the White Deer Land Museum in a structure constructed in 1916 and located at 112-116 South Cuyler Street in Pampa.
of ranch owner Cornelia Adair
(1837–1921), was elected to the United States Senate
from New York
. Adair then asked Hobart to take over the management in 1915. On Cornelia’s death, Hobart became a coexecutor of her estate. As the sole JA administrator in 1932, Hobart had urged Adair’s grandson and principal heir, Montie Ritchie
(1910–1999), to sell off the JA lands, but Ritchie, who became sole owner and manager on Hobart’s death, refused. Ritchie turned around ranch operations during the 1940s, having overcome the effects of his grandmother’s estate debts, the Great Depression
, and drought
. Today, the ranch remains in fifth-generation hands of the original Adairs.
in Canyon
in Randall County south of Amarillo, which was dedicated on April 14, 1933. He also was a banker and twice president of the trade association
, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
, based in Fort Worth
.
In 1888, Hobart had married the former Minnie Wood Warren of Vermont. They had four children; a son died in 1910. Minnie and the three other children survived Hobart, who died of pneumonia
.
Lester Fields Sheffy published Hobart’s biography
, ‘’The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart’’ through the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society in 1950.
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
-born businessman, landowner, surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
, and civic leader in the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
. He lived primarily in Pampa
Pampa, Texas
Pampa is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,887 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gray County.Pampa is the principal city of the Pampa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Gray and Roberts counties....
, the seat of Gray County, which he had helped to establish in 1902. He was elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Pampa in 1927. In his later years, he was the manager of the large JA Ranch
JA Ranch
The JA Ranch, jointly founded by John George Adair and Charles Goodnight, is the oldest privately owned cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of Amarillo. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still run by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some of...
, based in the first third of the 20th century in four counties southeast of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
: Donley
Donley County, Texas
Donley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 3,828. It is named for Stockton P. Donley, a frontier lawyer. Its county seat is Clarendon....
, Armstrong
Armstrong County, Texas
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, and was formed in 1876 from Bexar County. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area. As of 2000, the population is 2,148. Its county seat is Claude. Armstrong is named for one of several Texas pioneer families named Armstrong...
, Swisher
Swisher County, Texas
Swisher County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 8,378. Its seat is Tulia. The county is named for James G. Swisher, a soldier of the Texas Revolution and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
, and Briscoe.
Early years
Hobart was born in BerlinBerlin, Vermont
Berlin is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,864 at the 2000 census. Being the town between Barre, Vermont and Montpelier, Vermont, the two largest cities in the region, much of the commercial business of the region can be found in Berlin, including parts of...
in Washington County
Washington County, Vermont
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 59,534; Vermont's third-most populous county after Chittenden County and Rutland County. Its shire town is Montpelier, the state capital. The center of population of Vermont is located in Washington...
near the capital city of Montpelier
Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
in northern Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. He was school superintendent there, when in 1882 he heeded the advice of a cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
, Ira Hobart Evans
Ira Hobart Evans
Ira Hobart Evans was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and received the Medal of Honor. He was also a prominent Texas businessman and philanthropist.-Early life:...
, to relocate to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to work as an agent for the New York and Texas Land Company. At the time, the firm owned some five million acres (20,000 km²) from Brazoria
Brazoria, Texas
Brazoria is a city of Brazoria County in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 2,787.Brazoria was originally founded as a port for Stephen F...
on the Gulf Coast
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to the Panhandle. Hobart arrived in the fall of 1882 in Palestine
Palestine, Texas
Palestine is a city in Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 17,598, and 18,458 in the 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Anderson County and is situated in East Texas...
, the seat of Anderson County
Anderson County, Texas
Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 55,109. Its county seat is Palestine. Anderson county was organized in 1846, and is named in honor of Kenneth L. Anderson who had been Vice President of the Republic of Texas.-Geography:According to the...
in east Texas. He worked with a surveying crew under E.A. Giraud in southwestern Texas during an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
and learned about Texas climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, soil, vegetation, and wildlife. Added business compelled that he be shifted to the state capital of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
for easier access to official records. In 1886, Evans placed Hobart in complete charge of a million acres (4,000 km²) of open range
Open range
Open range may refer to: vast areas of grassy land that is owned by the federal government.*Rangeland, vast natural landscapes*Open Range, the 2003 Western movie co-starring, co-produced, and directed by Kevin Costner...
in the Panhandle.
Disposing of Panhandle lands
Hobart established headquarters at MobeetieMobeetie, Texas
Mobeetie is a city in northwestern Wheeler County, Texas, United States, just across the Sweetwater Creek from Texas Route 152. The population was 107 at the 2000 census.-History:...
in Wheeler County, one of the first three Panhandle settlements. He surveyed, fenced, and improved lands for leasing and subdividing among various cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
operations. Hobart noted that sales increased where pastures were fenced, and water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
was easily available. He devised a plan, approved by Evans, to lease land to large cattle operations for grazing at the rate of four cents an acre and applying the first year’s rental to improvements. Hobart reasoned that the improvements would bring greater profits down the line. Execution of the plan required the stringing of hundreds of miles of barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
, cutting thousands of fence posts, and the digging hundreds of wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
with accompanying windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
s. There were also earthen dams required to hold the water. The fence posts came from the Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States. As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a width of at places. Its depth is around...
to the south; most were cut by two bachelor
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
brothers, Ben and Sebe Merry, believed to have been over seven feet tall, who were paid seven to nine cents for each post.
As the number of settlers, some foreigners, increased, so did the demand for smaller tracts. Some of the largest sales included the North Fork Pasture of 190000 acres (768.9 km²), the Sam Lazarus Pasture of 100000 acres (404.7 km²), and the Nick Eaton Range of 88000 acres (356.1 km²). By 1897, most of the large cattle concerns had been divided into smaller units, and large tracts were not so available for leasing. That situation had compelled Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight
Charles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight , was a cattle rancher in the American West, perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Essayist and historian J...
to end his partnership in the JA in 1888. The leasing of smaller parcels, at from five to eight cents per acre continued to provide funds for improvements. By 1900, the company’s Panhandle lands had been improved and sold at profitable prices ranging from $1.75 to $3 an acre.
White Deer Lands
In January 1903, Hobart resigned from the New York and Texas Land Company to become general manager of the newly-established White Deer Lands Trust Company, which purchased some 1000 mi2 of land from him in CarsonCarson County, Texas
Carson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area. In 2000, its population was 6,516. Carson is named for Samuel Price Carson, the first secretary of state of the Republic of Texas. The seat of the county is Panhandle. It was founded in...
, Roberts, Hutchinson
Hutchinson County, Texas
Hutchinson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas in the northern portion of the Texas Panhandle. In 2000, its population was 23,857. Its seat is Stinnett . Hutchinson County is named for Andrew Hutchinson, an early Texas attorney....
, and Gray counties in the northern Panhandle. From his Gray County headquarters, Hobart surveyed, fenced, improved, and sold land for White Deer until 1924.
Hobart was in charge of recruiting farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s to the Panhandle lands, with Henry Thut and Perry LeFors being among the first to purchase such agricultural tracts. Farming communities, including LeFors and Groom, sprang up. The company office was located in the new railroad town of Pampa. The Diamond F Ranch, then consisting of 630000 acres (2,549.5 km²), sold its cattle and leased its land to various cattle outfits. White Deer Lands had succeeded in selling most of the remaining 400000 acres (1,618.7 km²) of land.
The history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of the company, which existed until 1957, is maintained at the White Deer Land Museum in a structure constructed in 1916 and located at 112-116 South Cuyler Street in Pampa.
Hobart and the JA Ranch
In 1914, JA manager James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., a nephewNephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
of ranch owner Cornelia Adair
Cornelia Adair
Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair was the matriarch of Glenveagh Castle in County Donegal, Ireland, now an Irish national park, and the large JA Ranch southeast of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle, a still active cattle ranch...
(1837–1921), was elected to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Adair then asked Hobart to take over the management in 1915. On Cornelia’s death, Hobart became a coexecutor of her estate. As the sole JA administrator in 1932, Hobart had urged Adair’s grandson and principal heir, Montie Ritchie
Montie Ritchie
Montgomery Harrison Wadsworth Ritchie , known as Montie Ritchie, was a dual British subject and American citizen who became a leading cattle rancher and businessman in the Texas Panhandle during the 20th century. From 1935-1993, he was the manager of his family-owned JA Ranch southeast of Amarillo...
(1910–1999), to sell off the JA lands, but Ritchie, who became sole owner and manager on Hobart’s death, refused. Ritchie turned around ranch operations during the 1940s, having overcome the effects of his grandmother’s estate debts, the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
. Today, the ranch remains in fifth-generation hands of the original Adairs.
Civic leadership
Throughout his later years, Hobart devoted himself to civic improvements in Pampa. He was the president of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society during the latter 1920s and early 1930s.. He assisted the board in securing funding to construct the first portion of the Panhandle-Plains Historical MuseumPanhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is a history museum on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, U.S.A., a small city south of Amarillo. The museum's contents are owned and controlled by the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, while West Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M...
in Canyon
Canyon, Texas
Canyon is a city in Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,875 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randall County. It is the home of West Texas A&M University and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is some twelve miles east of Canyon...
in Randall County south of Amarillo, which was dedicated on April 14, 1933. He also was a banker and twice president of the trade association
Trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
, the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association was created in 1877, when 40 Texas cattlemen joined together out of their common interest to end unbridled livestock theft and formed what was to become Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association....
, based in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
In 1888, Hobart had married the former Minnie Wood Warren of Vermont. They had four children; a son died in 1910. Minnie and the three other children survived Hobart, who died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Lester Fields Sheffy published Hobart’s biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, ‘’The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart’’ through the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society in 1950.