The XIT Cattle Company and Its Historical Significance in Montana History

Introduction

The XIT Ranch—originating from a unique land-for-services agreement in Texas during the late nineteenth century—stands as one of the most expansive and consequential cattle operations of the American West. Although its core acreage lay within the Texas Panhandle, its far-reaching ranching strategies extended well into the northern Plains, especially Montana, where seasonal grazing and cattle finishing became integral to the company’s business model. The transformational link between the Texas enterprise and the Montana range provides a compelling lens through which to understand broader processes in U.S. settlement, cattle ranching economics, and regional development during a formative era in Western history.

Origins of the XIT Cattle Company

The XIT Cattle Company emerged from a peculiar political and economic compromise in post-Reconstruction Texas. In 1875, the Texas Constitutional Convention designated a vast swath of public land—over three million acres—in the Texas Panhandle as payment for a new state capitol building in Austin. A syndicate led by Chicago businessmen Charles B. and John V. Farwell accepted this land in exchange for constructing the capitol, financing the endeavor through a London-based investment concern known as the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company, Limited. This arrangement, finalized by the mid-1880s, produced one of the largest fenced ranches in history and laid the foundation for the XIT enterprise.

At its zenith, the ranch encompassed more than 3,000,000 acres across ten Texas counties, maintaining upwards of 150,000 head of cattle under its trademark “XIT” brand. The brand itself was devised to be simple to apply yet difficult to alter, deterring rustlers—a persistent challenge throughout ranch operations.

The Economic Logic of the Northern Expansion

Despite its world-record size under one fence, the XIT endeavor struggled financially within Texas. Falling cattle prices in the late 1880s, coupled with periodic drought, rustling, and rising costs, prevented consistent profitability. XIT’s leadership accordingly pursued an innovative strategy: utilizing the rich northern grasslands to double-winter steers—a term for running cattle through two seasons to increase weight and market value before sale.

Beginning in 1890, John V. Farwell dispatched exploratory herds northward, establishing a northern headquarters on Cedar Creek in Custer County, Montana, about 65 miles north of present-day Miles City. From there, XIT leased more than two million acres of prime grassland between the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. The operation drove cattle by trail—sometimes as many as 10,000 to 20,000 head annually—across an 850-mile journey from Texas to Montana, a logistical feat taking about three months and requiring skilled cowboys, cooks, and support personnel. Once in Montana, the cattle grazed freely on open range for up to two years before being shipped via railroad to meat markets such as Chicago.

The economic rationale for this northward expansion was clear: the abundant pasture and relatively mild winters permitted cattle to reach desirable market weights at reduced feed cost, effectively increasing XIT’s competitive position. Moreover, by the early 1890s, the Texas portion of the ranch was becoming less vital as land began to be parceled out for homesteaders and smaller ranch operations—a pattern mirrored across the West.

Cultural and Community Impact in Montana

The XIT’s presence in eastern Montana catalyzed significant changes in local communities and social structures. While XIT men and Texas cowboys initially drove the enterprise, many eventually remained in Montana, forming the foundations of later regional ranching families and civic institutions. One prominent example was Osceola C. Cato, who managed the Cedar Creek (Hatchet) Ranch and became a leading citizen in Miles City, serving as a sheriff and state senator.

The transfer of organizational culture from Texas to Montana also enriched local social life. Traditional cattle roundups, line camps, and open-range cowboy practices—nearly obsolete within the fenced Texas ranch—persisted longer on the unfenced northern range. These practices held historical significance, preserving aspects of the open-range cowboy ethos amid shifting economic landscapes.

Moreover, Montana’s own ranching legacy predates the XIT by decades, exemplified by sites such as the Grant–Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, which commemorates the region’s earlier cattle industry development. The interaction between established Montana ranching cultures and XIT operations illustrates the cross-currents of Western economic and environmental histories during the late nineteenth century.

Environmental and Logistical Dimensions

The XIT’s Montana operations were not merely economic ventures but also required adaptations to the local ecology and geography. The northern Plains presented long, cold winters, variable precipitation patterns, and distinct grass species that influenced cattle health and grazing patterns. XIT workers adapted by stationing winter crews in Montana bunkhouses and permitting laid-off cowboys to remain and participate in local social activities during off-seasons.

The open range of Montana, unfenced except for limited pastures, also demanded advanced herding strategies to manage widely dispersed herds across thousands of acres. Although railroads provided shipping infrastructure, trail drives remained a defining logistical challenge, linking Texas and Montana through arduous, hundreds-mile routes.

These operational networks placed Montana at a unique intersection of ranching, transportation, and frontier settlement, effectively integrating the region into broader cattle market circuits that spanned several states and crossed economic sectors ranging from agriculture to railroading.

Decline and Legacy

By the first decade of the twentieth century, several forces contributed to the decline of the XIT’s Montana operations. Homesteader encroachment, settlement of open range lands, and competition from newly established ranches and sheep herding—along with the ongoing sale of Texas acreage—made the long drives and massive leasing arrangements less viable. In 1909, the company officially ended its Montana operations, and by 1912 it had sold its last Texas cattle.

Despite its relatively brief active period in Montana, the XIT’s imprint was durable. First, it influenced the regional cattle economy by establishing large-scale cattle finishing far from the Texas Panhandle, thereby altering ranching patterns in eastern Montana. Second, it fostered enduring connections between Texas and Montana ranching cultures, blending social traditions and shaping local identities. Third, the presence of XIT personnel in community leadership roles, local governance, and long-term ranch operations contributed directly to Montana’s sociopolitical fabric in the early twentieth century.

Conclusion

The historical significance of the XIT Cattle Company in Montana history extends far beyond seasonal grazing contracts or cattle drives. As an enterprise born of unique political arrangements and global capital flows, it demonstrated the interconnectedness of land policy, economic strategy, and regional transformation during the last decades of the American frontier era. Its operations contributed not only to Montana’s agricultural economy but also shaped local cultures, settlement patterns, and community structures. Viewed through both economic and cultural lenses, the XIT’s legacy persists as a testament to the dynamic forces that forged the modern American West.

Works Cited

Dagel, Kenneth C. “XIT Ranch.” Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, https://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.078.html. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

“When the Vast Texas XIT Expanded to Montana.” XIT Journal, 13 Sept. 2022, https://xitranch.com/xit-journal/when-the-vast-texas-xit-expanded-to-montana/. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

“XIT Ranch.” Texas State Historical Association Handbook, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/xit-ranch. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

XIT Ranch. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XIT_Ranch. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

Cattle Capitalists: The XIT Empire in Texas and Montana. Dissertation, University of North Texas Libraries, https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1062857/m1/178/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2025.

Grant–Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant%E2%80%93Kohrs_Ranch_National_Historic_Site. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.