Oklahoma’s wildlife refuge hides one of the purest Texas Longhorn herds left on Earth

Barnes and Hatton’s 5,000-Mile Longhorn Rescue Mission

By 1927, the Texas Longhorn was almost gone. Once, millions roamed free across Texas, but crossbreeding with meatier cattle had nearly wiped them out. Congress stepped in with $3,000 to save the breed.

Two Forest Service rangers, Will Barnes and John Hatton, took on a huge task. They drove 5,000 miles across South Texas and checked over 30,000 cattle.

In the end, they found just 27 pure longhorns. These precious few were shipped to Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, where their descendants still roam today.

The story of how Oklahoma saved this Texas icon unfolds at Medicine Park.

The Last Wild Longhorns Nearly Vanished Forever

By the 1920s, fewer than 1,000 pure Texas Longhorns remained in the state.

Ranchers had spent years mixing them with Herefords and shorthorn Durhams that got fatter faster and fit better in train cars.

Fences had stopped open grazing, making slower-growing Longhorns less profitable than foreign breeds. The Cattle Fever Tick program led to killing infected Longhorns despite their natural protection against Texas fever.

A breed once counted in millions faced dying out completely within years.

Uncle Sam Stepped In With $3,000 To Save A Breed

Congress set aside $3,000 in 1927 to save the Texas Longhorn from dying out. They saw the breed’s value to American history.

The U.S. Forest Service got the odd job of finding and keeping purebred cattle. Ranger Earl Drummond first suggested starting a protected herd.

The money marked the first time the government tried to save a cattle breed as living history.

Two Rangers Accepted An Impossible Mission

Will C. Barnes, 69, and fellow Forest Service ranger John Hatton took on the tough job.

The men armed themselves with details about true Longhorn features from ranchers and trail riders. They looked for cattle with specific traits: long legs, bony bodies, curved horns, and mixed colors with black spots.

Barnes wrote about their trip in the Saturday Evening Post on October 15, 1927. The rangers knew they might not find any pure animals left.

Road Trip Through South Texas Covered 5,000 Miles

Barnes and Hatton drove over 5,000 miles through South Texas prairies and thorny thickets. They checked dry riverbeds along the Rio Grande and tree groves for purebred animals.

Their search took them into Mexico following tips about possible cattle. They faced tough travel through rough land in summer heat to reach far-off ranches.

They covered the same areas where big herds once roamed freely.

Searching Through 30,000 Cattle For The Real Deal

The rangers personally checked more than 30,000 cattle during their hunt. They looked at animals in southwest Texas coastal areas between Corpus Christi and Beaumont.

Most cattle showed signs of mixing with Brahman, Hereford, or other European stock. The rangers checked for specific physical signs: horn shape, body build, color patterns, and head features.

Finding true purebreds proved much harder than anyone thought.

Only 30 Animals Made The Cut

After months of searching, Barnes and Hatton picked just 30 animals they thought were true Longhorns. The final group had 20 cows, 3 bulls, 3 steers, and 4 calves.

All breeding stock was at least 12 years old, the last group of purebreds.

Ten cows and one bull came from southwest Texas thickets, while ten cows and two bulls came from the coast. The three steers joined to show how horns grow.

Oklahoma Became Home For The Last Purebreds

In August 1927, the 30 Longhorns traveled by train to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Cache, Oklahoma. Workers dipped the animals in medicine to kill ticks before shipping them.

One cow died from moving injuries after reaching the refuge. One bull died from blood sickness soon after arrival.

The living animals formed the base herd for federal protection efforts.

Tough Decisions Kept The Bloodline Pure

One bull never bred any cows after showing too many Brahman traits. The oldest bull died soon after arrival but had already made calves.

When one bull bred to a supposedly pure cow made a white-faced calf, workers removed both as Hereford mixes. During the first three years, seven more cows died from various causes.

Staff removed animals and their babies that didn’t match old-time Longhorn looks.

Six Texas Families Maintained Their Own Herds

While Barnes and Hatton gathered the government herd, six Texas ranching families kept their own pure Longhorn groups. The Butler family in League City saved Longhorns from slaughter pens and bred for horn features.

Cap Yates in Alpine went to Mexico seeking the purest bloodlines, building a herd of over 500. Jack Phillips and his father in Brazoria County grew their herd with the Melgaard purchase.

The Wright family, Marks family, and Graves Peeler each kept separate bloodlines.

Careful Breeding Brought Back The Iconic Cattle

Wichita Refuge staff kept good records of every animal from 1927 through decades of breeding. By rotating and carefully matching cows and bulls, workers bred out flaws over time.

The refuge eventually grew cattle that looked more like legendary Longhorns than the original 1927 group.

Bulls and cows from other founding families sometimes joined the herd, including animals from Yates, Phillips, and Butler. Yearly sales starting in 1934 sent WR-branded cattle to breeders nationwide.

From 27 Animals To Thousands Today

By 1940, the Wichita herd had grown to over 160 head of healthy animals.

When the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America formed in 1964, fewer than 1,500 genuine Longhorns existed worldwide. Most Texas Longhorns today trace genetic lines back to the Wichita Mountains herd.

The WR-branded descendants represent one of the purest genetic lines of historic Texas Longhorns. The 1927 rescue mission saved an irreplaceable part of American heritage from permanent extinction.

Visiting Medicine Park, Oklahoma

You can see descendants of the 27 Texas Longhorns that saved the breed from extinction at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is free and open sunrise to sunset, 14 miles west of I-44 exit 45 on Highway 49.

Walk the 1.5-mile Longhorn Trail through prairie where the herd grazes.

The Visitor Center is open 9am-5pm with wildlife exhibits. Book June wildlife tours through Friends of the Wichitas to see newborn calves.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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