Great Plains Cattle Empire: Thatcher Brothers and Associates, 1875-1945 [Hardcover]

Paul E. Patterson (Author), Joy Poole (Editor), Elmer Kelton (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2000

This work chronicles the establishment of the cattle industry in the Great Plains, spanning the years from the Civil War to World War II. John and Mahlon Thatcher were two of the many pioneers looking to begin a new life in the great open spaces of the West. In the 1860s, the brothers began a small mercantile in the town of Pueblo, Colorado. From a small safe in the corner of their newly created mercantile, the two Thatcher brothers founded what was to become the First National Bank of Pueblo, Colorado. Together with such legendary figures as Frank Bloom, Henry Cresswell, O. H. Perry Baxter, William Anderson, Burton Mossman, and Mahlon T. Everhart, they created a cattle empire—financing and directing the Bloom Land and Cattle Company, Diamond A Cattle Company, and the Hatchet Cattle Company. Their herds of cattle, horses and sheep ranged on some eleven million acres of land sprawling from New Mexico to Canada.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul E. Patterson managed the Diamond A Cattle Company for twenty-six years. His work has appeared in Field and Stream, New Mexico Magazine, Western Horseman, and other publications. Joy Poole is former director of the Fort Collins Museum in Colorado.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press; 1st Edition edition (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896723976
• ISBN-13: 978-0896723979
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,488,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real Colorado Cattle Barons, December 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Plains Cattle Empire: Thatcher Brothers and Associates, 1875-1945 (Hardcover)

A cattle ranching history of the Thatcher Brothers and their brother in law Frank Bloom is long overdue. These businessmen were real people with the entreprenuerial spirt to recognize opportunities and the ability to act on their instincts. Their business acumen and ability to diversify their finances enabled them to promote the Hereford cattle industry despite numerous obstacles...limited water, the elements of weather, and vast rangelands amounting to 11 million acres. Patterson and Poole have done their homework and provided us with an authentic, well researched story on these early cattle ranches who rivalled other more well known operations such as the Prairie Land and Cattle Company from the Panhandle area. It is remarkable that Charlie Russell worked for the circle Diamond prior to becoming a western artist. The Thatcher and Bloom associations with Goodnight, Cresswell, Tony Day, Cap Mossman and the Iliff family of Denver are all indicative of their far reaching influence and successful longevity. Patterson's ability to turn a phrase which is filled with western jargon and cattle ranching terms reinforces his first hand knowledge of cattle ranching. The true history of these early cattle companies is a fascinating story of real people who worked hard to settle the American West.