By Bob Welch
On November 30, 1867, Colorado cattlemen gathered in what is now downtown Denver to form the nation’s first-ever stock grower’s association. Colorado, though, wasn’t even a state. In fact, the territory was only created six years earlier on the eve of the Civil War from the existing territories of Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Utah.
While the war interrupted the progress the territory was making toward statehood, when the fighting ended, the tide of emigrants could not be stopped. Though the initial gold rush happened in 1859, after the war some came seeking fortune in the mines, others in the fertile river valleys, and still others seeking to take advantage of a lawless frontier.
As the gold rush faded, agriculture—particularly beef cattle early on—became the primary economic enterprise of the territory. And there were no fences to contain the creatures. Ranchers branded their cattle, but with far-flung herds small-time rustlers could easily re-brand and market the beef in the mining fields.
In 1967, the Colorado Cattlemen’s (as it later became known) published a book of their 100-year history called Century in the Saddle. In it, they describe the early beef business in the state.
“This kind of business property was highly mobile. It had a tendency to drift with a storm, it was perishable, and most important of all, it was edible. This, coupled with the fact that cattle were easily marketed, either on the hoof or as beef, made the business of cattle raising for profit a precarious vocation on the frontier.”
Longhorns were streaming up from Texas at the same time as European cattle, mostly Shorthorn, or “American cattle” as they were called at the time, were being driven in from the states. Texas tick fever from the Longhorns was killing the American cattle.
While the threats from the Native populations had subsided to a degree, the days of peace on the prairie had not yet come to fruition.
All these factors, and more, led the cattlemen of the state to recognize they needed to organize. A.G. Reed, A.J. Williams, Thomas B. Farmer and some twenty others put out the call in the Rocky Mountain News for cattlemen to gather at the Planter House in Denver on Nov. 24. By Nov. 30 they had incorporated.
The first order of business was hiring an investigator to root out cattle thieves. The association hired David J. Cook, the city marshal of Denver. Cook originally came to Colorado to work the mines. When his small diggings were stolen, he tracked the thief down—launching his career in law enforcement. He organized the Rocky Mountain Detective Association made up of lawmen across the territory. They formed an information exchange that quickly proved its value in tracking livestock with forged bills of sale or altered brands.
Cook finished his investigation and submitted his report in the spring of 1868 at the cattlemen’s next meeting.
The story in Century in the Saddle unfolds as the secretary read the report:
“It has been possible to run down most of the rustling to its sources. Herewith are submitted proofs of the guilt of those who have been most active. The chief rustlers are—,” the secretary suddenly stopped and his face blanched.
“Go on! Who are they?” came the shouted demand.
The list of the guilty parties included the names of three officers of the Association, plus some of the other members.
In subsequent minutes, the resignations of A.G. Reed, President; Andrew Slain, Vice President; and Alexander Davidson, Secretary were received and accepted.
Cook proved his worth and his mettle and continued to work with the association.
Once cleansed of its erstwhile duplicitous leadership, the Colorado Stock Grower’s Association continued to grow and become more influential. In fact, it became somewhat of a launching pad for higher offices in state government as three of the early presidents of the association went on to become Colorado State Governors: Job A. Cooper, John L. Routt, and Elias M. Ammons. (The detective Cook, by the way, received high appointments in both the Cooper and Routt administrations.)
By 1870, the railroad was completed to Denver from the Eastern states. By 1876, the Territory became a state and the Colorado Stock Growers became the Colorado Cattle Growers. By then, their objectives focused on organizing round-ups, registering brands, and promotion as Colorado’s Wild West era ended earlier than other Western states—due in no small part to the organization and enforcement provided by the early cattlemen.
Joseph McCoy, the man who was the brains and promotion behind the early day cattle drives from Texas to Kansas, wrote in an 1873 book, Historic Sketches of the Cattle Trade, “Perhaps in no other state or territory in the Union are the stockmen so wide awake to their interests, or so completely organized, as in Colorado.”
Other states organized as well and together began to influence national associations and national policy on behalf of cattlemen. Colorado, though, will forever hold the distinction as the first. ★
Image: Yampa River Valley, Colorado. Fattening Hereford beef cattle. U.S. Farm Security Administration, 1941. Courtesy Library of Congress
This article appears in the Winter 2023 issue of the Ranch Record. Would you like to read more stories about NRHC and ranching life? When you become a member of the Ranching Heritage Association, you’ll receive the award-winning Ranch Record magazine and more while supporting the legacy and preservation of our ranching heritage. Become a member today.
