Drift Fence (THC #5507014964)

Famed cattleman Charles Goodnight established one of the first ranches in the Texas Panhandle, the J A Ranch, in 1876. Later that year, Thomas S. Bugbee established the first cattle ranch in Hutchinson County. As a result of soaring beef prices cattle ranching proliferated in this region of the U.S. in the 1880s. The Texas Panhandle, with its open range and expansive grasslands, became the preferred winter grazing site for cattle migrating south from Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. This seasonal influx of cattle disrupted the practice of area ranchers who went to great lengths to respect adjacent ranch boundaries. Members of the Panhandle Stock Association pooled their resources and in 1882-85 erected barbed wire barriers along a 200-mile stretch of the Panhandle including Hutchinson County to prevent cattle from drifting south into the fertile Canadian River Valley. The "drift fence" worked too well in the winters of 1886 and 1887 when thousands of cattle moving south ahead of strong storms stalled at the fence line and froze or were trampled to death. The staggering losses prompted federal and state legislation which limited fencing on public lands and the "drift fence" was removed or incorporated into private ranch fencing. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.

Drift Fence is a historical marker in Stinnett, Hutchinson County, dedicated in 1995. It is one of 22 historical markers documented in Hutchinson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 23 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 36.0232, -101.2304 near Stinnett. The nearest cataloged historic site is Holt School (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Holt Cemetery, Battle of Adobe Walls, and Drift Fence.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507014964. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.