Photograph Collection of the JA Cattle Company
MAIN ENTRY: JA Cattle Company
TITLE: Photograph Collection, 1819-1989 and undated
SERIES: SWCPC 755
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1320 color and b & w prints, 744 b & w negatives, 212 slides
BIO/HISTORICAL: The JA Ranch located in the Panhandle of Texas is the oldest privately owned cattle company. Its history can be traced as far back as 1876 when Charles Goodnight began his own ranch. The JA Ranch began with the partnership of Charles Goodnight and John G. Adair. After several years of managing the ranch, Goodnight took his part of the ranch and left the JA Ranch. Cornelia Ritchie Adair became sole owner of the ranch after the death of John Adair. She ran it until her death in 1921. Her only remaining son Jack Ritchie passed away shortly in 1924. Jack Ritchie was Montie’s father. The ranch was incorporated in the late 1940s and became the JA Cattle Company. It is currently handled by the Ritchie family which is situated in the Palo Duro Canyon and consists of over 335,000 acres of land. The land covers portions of Armstrong, Briscoe, Donley, and Hall counties. Much of the land is leased to local ranchers to ease the cost of operations. Montie Ritchie operated the ranch until his death in July 19, 1999. The heirs to the ranch are his daughter, Cornelia "Ninia" W. Ritchie Bivins and her son Andrew M. Bivins.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Collection of portraits of the Ritchie family and friends on the JA Ranch and on vacation. It includes ranch activities, Arctic sailing trip and Eskimos, fishing trip, mountain skiing in various parts of the globe, the Ritchie home in England, cowboys working with livestock, scenic ranch land, mountains, and oceans. Family members include M. H. W. "Montie" Ritchie, Cornelia "Ninia" Ritchie Bivins, R. M. W. "Dick" Ritchie, and Daisy Muriel Ritchie. Select from the series below for a detailed inventory.
Photographs (Currently Unavailable)
PROVENANCE: Most of the collection was picked up from the JA Ranch Headquarters in Palo Duro, Texas. They were delivered to the Southwest Collection by SWC staff.
NOTES: The collection comes with some oversized photographs.
SUBJECT TERMS: Cattle; Cowboys; Ranches; Ranch house; English homes; Mountains; Skiing; Arctic trips; sail boats; Icebergs; Eskimos; Mountain climbing; Aviation; Airplanes; Military uniforms; Horses; Ships; Fishing; Glenveagh Castle
PERSONAL NAMES: Ritchie, M. H. W. "Montie"; Bivins, Cornelia "Ninia" W. Ritchie; Ritchie, R. M. W. "Dick"; Adair, Cornelia Ritchie; Goodnight, Charles; Ritchie, Hildegard Neill; Ritchie, Elizabeth Barrell; Ritchie, James Wadsworth; Birkbeck, Daisy Muriel Ritchie; Style, Gabrielle M. Ritchie Keiller;
CORPORATE NAMES: JA Cattle Company; JA Ranch
GEOGRAPHIC NAMES: Palo Duro, Texas; Palo Duro Canyon, Texas; London, England; County Donegal, Ireland;
GENRE/FORM TERMS OR OCCUPATIONS: Ranchers; Pilot; U.S. Naval Aviator