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| name =JA Ranch}}
| name =JA Ranch}}
'''The JA Ranch,''' founded jointly by John George Adair (1823-1885) and Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), is the oldest privately owned [[cattle]] ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of [[Amarillo]], [[Texas]]. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still managed by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some 1,335,000acres of land in six counties and a herd of 100,000 cattle. The name "JA" is derived from the initials for John Adair, a [[business]]man, originally from [[Ireland]]. Goodnight managed and expanded the ranch, while Adair provided the working capital. Upon Adair's death, his wife, the former Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, took over Adair's interest in the JA. In 1888, Goodnight left the arrangement to establish his own ranch and in time ventured into other [[business]] activities as well. The ranch was added in 1966 to the National Register of Historic Places for Armstrong County.<ref>{{cite web|title=JA Ranch|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2066000807&site_name=J+A+Ranch&class=2001|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref>
'''The JA Ranch,''' founded jointly by John George Adair (1823-1885) and Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), is the oldest privately owned [[cattle]] ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of [[Amarillo]], [[Texas]]. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still managed by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some 1,335,000 acres of land in six counties and a herd of 100,000 cattle.
The name "JA" is derived from the initials for John Adair, a [[business]]man, originally from [[Ireland]]. Goodnight managed and expanded the ranch, while Adair provided the working capital. Upon Adair's death, his wife, the former Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, took over Adair's interest in the JA. In 1888, Goodnight left the arrangement to establish his own ranch and in time ventured into other [[business]] activities as well. The ranch was added in 1966 to the National Register of Historic Places for Armstrong County.<ref>{{cite web|title=JA Ranch|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2066000807&site_name=J+A+Ranch&class=2001|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref>
==Cornelia Adair==
==Cornelia Adair==
Cornelia Wadsworth was born in 1837 in Geneseo in Livingston County in western [[New York]]. In 1857, she married Montgomery Harrison Ritchie (1826–1864) of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], a descendant of the [[Federalist Party]] leader Harrison Gray Otis (1765–1848).<ref name=PPHM>JA Ranch exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas.</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], Ritchie served with the [[New England]] Guard. After the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] in [[Virginia]] in 1864, he crossed [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] lines to retrieve the body of his fallen father-in-law, [[General]] James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr., (1807–1864), and return it to Geneseo. Cornelia was reared near Geneseo on a [[farm]] that her ancestors had purchased from the Seneca Indians.<ref name=JA>[http://www.ranches.org/JAranch.htm JA Ranch]</ref>
Cornelia Wadsworth was born in 1837 in Geneseo in Livingston County in western [[New York]]. In 1857, she married Montgomery Harrison Ritchie (1826–1864) of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], a descendant of the [[Federalist Party]] leader Harrison Gray Otis (1765–1848).<ref name=PPHM>JA Ranch exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas.</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], Ritchie served with the [[New England]] Guard. After the [[Battle of the Wilderness]] in [[Virginia]] in 1864, he crossed [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] lines to retrieve the body of his fallen father-in-law, [[General]] James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr., (1807–1864), and return it to Geneseo. Cornelia was reared near Geneseo on a [[farm]] that her ancestors had purchased from the Seneca Indians.<ref name=JA>[http://www.ranches.org/JAranch.htm JA Ranch]</ref>
A few months later, Ritchie, who had fought earlier in the war under [[General]] [[Ambrose Burnside]] in [[North Carolina]], died of an illness during the war.<ref name=PPHM/>
A few months later, Montgomery Ritchie, who had fought earlier in the war under [[General]] [[Ambrose Burnside]] in [[North Carolina]], died of an illness during the war.<ref name=PPHM/>
Widowed Cornelia Ritchie took her two sons, Arthur Ritchie and James Wadsworth "Jack" Ritchie (1861–1924), to [[Europe]] for their [[education]]. There she met and married in 1867 the wealthy landowner John Adair. The Adairs moved to [[New York City]], where Adair had established a brokerage office. His uneasy temperament led the family west in search of what [[Benjamin Franklin]] had once described as the "safety valve" of economic prosperity through westward expansion.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/pss/1891816</ref> They reached Sidney, [[Nebraska]], and proceeded to [[Colorado]], where they joined Charles Goodnight's [[buffalo]] hunt. Goodnight told the Adairs about the Palo Duro country of [[Texas]], where cattle could thrive by grazing on the plains in the summer and spending the winter in the shelter of the canyon. The hunting trip ended in misfortune. Adair's gun accidentally discharged and killed his [[horse]], and Adair himself was injured in a fall.<ref name=JA />
Widowed Cornelia Ritchie took her two sons, Arthur Ritchie and James Wadsworth "Jack" Ritchie (1861–1924), to [[Europe]] for their [[education]]. There she met and married in 1867 the wealthy landowner John Adair. The Adairs moved to [[New York City]], where Adair had established a brokerage office. His uneasy temperament led the family west in search of what [[Benjamin Franklin]] had once described as the "safety valve" of economic prosperity through westward expansion.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/pss/1891816</ref> They reached Sidney, [[Nebraska]], and proceeded to [[Colorado]], where they joined Charles Goodnight's [[buffalo]] hunt. Goodnight told the Adairs about the Palo Duro country of [[Texas]], where cattle could thrive by grazing on the plains in the summer and spending the winter in the shelter of the canyon. The hunting trip ended in misfortune. Adair's gun accidentally discharged and killed his [[horse]], and Adair himself was injured in a fall.<ref name=JA />
As the railroads brought more settlers, the JA began leasing and selling excess pasture. In 1891, the "Heckman school," named for homesteader John Heckman on whose camp the school was erected) opened near JA headquarters. It was for the education of the children of ranch employees and neighboring settlers. Over the years the ranch was gradually reduced in size as longtime employees began their own operations on former JA lands. In 1917, Edward D. Harrell purchased the acreage where the Old Home Ranch was located.<ref name=hbook/>
As the railroads brought more settlers, the JA began leasing and selling excess pasture. In 1891, the "Heckman school," named for homesteader John Heckman on whose camp the school was erected) opened near JA headquarters. It was for the education of the children of ranch employees and neighboring settlers. Over the years the ranch was gradually reduced in size as longtime employees began their own operations on former JA lands. In 1917, Edward D. Harrell purchased the acreage where the Old Home Ranch was located.<ref name=hbook/>
==U.S. Senator James Wadsworth==
==U.S. Senator James Wadsworth==
After Walsh resigned as manager in 1910, John S. Summerfield served for a year in that capacity. His successor was James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., a nephew of Cornelia Adair. Cornelia came across Wadsworth in England and offered him the vacant position. He was the manager until 1915, when he was elected as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] to the [[United States Senate]] from his home state of New York. He was also a former Speaker of the New York Assembly and a future member of the [[United States House of Representatives]], serving in the House after his Senate tenure. Though Texas at the time was historically [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], many of the Adairs were Republicans or Republican sympathizers.<ref name=PPHM/>
After Walsh resigned as manager in 1910, John S. Summerfield served for a year in that capacity. His successor was James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., a nephew of Cornelia Adair. Cornelia came across Wadsworth in England and offered him the vacant position. He was the manager until 1915, when he was elected as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] to the [[United States Senate]] from his home state of New York. He was also a former Speaker of the New York Assembly and a future member of the [[United States House of Representatives]], serving in the House after his Senate tenure. Though Texas at the time was historically [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], many of the Adairs were Republicans or Republican sympathizers.<ref name=PPHM/>
Hobart had operated the White Deer Land and Cattle Company from 1903 to 1924 in Pampa and was more experienced in the sale of land than the management of cattle. He had recommended selling the ranch, as it sunk into financial problems stemming from the [[Great Depression]] and a decade of [[drought]], but Montie Ritchie persisted with the first goal of paying off the debt. When problems persisted with Hobart, Montie Ritchie returned to England to secure the power of attorney from the then eight heirs to the ranch.<ref name=JA/>
Hobart had operated the White Deer Land and Cattle Company from 1903 to 1924 in Pampa and was more experienced in the sale of land than the management of cattle. He had recommended selling the ranch, as it sunk into financial problems stemming from the [[Great Depression]] and a decade of [[drought]], but Montie Ritchie persisted with the first goal of paying off the debt. When problems persisted with Hobart, Montie Ritchie returned to England to secure the power of attorney from the then eight heirs to the ranch.<ref name=JA/>
G. L. Moody of [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]], in a letter to Timothy Hobart, explained the dilemma this way:
G. L. Moody of [[San Angelo, Texas|San Angelo]], in a letter to Timothy Hobart, explained the dilemma this way:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
With county, road, and school taxes steadily mounting even in the grazing sections of Texas, there is very little inducement left for the cattleman to buy large ranches at the present prices. All farm land colonization companies have disbanded because there is no longer a chance for steady long time employment. Because of present-day conditions, I would not take to organize a colonizing company, nor do I know anyone who could afford to do so except the large landowner who wishes to sell and colonize his own property exclusively.<ref>Lester Fields Sheffy, ''The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart, 1855-1935: Colonization of West Texas'' (Canyon, [[Texas]]: Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1950), p. 227.</ref></blockquote>
With county, road, and school taxes steadily mounting even in the grazing sections of Texas, there is very little inducement left for the cattleman to buy large ranches at the present prices. All farm land colonization companies have disbanded because there is no longer a chance for steady long time employment. Because of present-day conditions, I would not take to organize a colonizing company, nor do I know anyone who could afford to do so except the large landowner who wishes to sell and colonize his own property exclusively.<ref>Lester Fields Sheffy, ''The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart, 1855-1935: Colonization of West Texas'' (Canyon, [[Texas]]: Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1950), p. 227.</ref></blockquote>
By the time that Montie Ritche returned to the Texas Panhandle in 1935, Hobart had died. Ritchie took over the ranch and remained there for the rest of his life.<ref name=JA/> The White Deer Land and Cattle Company maintains a museum in Pampa with a history of ranching and land management in the region.
By the time that Montie Ritche returned to the Texas Panhandle in 1935, Hobart had died. Ritchie took over the ranch and remained there for the rest of his life.<ref name=JA/> The White Deer Land and Cattle Company maintains a museum in Pampa with a history of ranching and land management in the region.