State of Texas Longhorn Herd at Fort Griffin

05/25/2026

👉👉 It’s difficult to separate Fort Griffin from our Longhorn Herd 👈👈

Most of our followers know that Fort Griffin is the home of our herd.
We suspect that a few folks may appreciate a little clarity on how this came about.
See the following information ….
…. and come visit us at the Fort.
A blessed Memorial Day to all….
👍👍

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Fort Griffin State Historic Site was selected as the permanent home for the herd in 1948, and the Texas Legislature officially designated it as the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd on May 14, 1969. [1, 2]

Key Milestones
* 1938–1941: Author J. Frank Dobie, rancher Graves Peeler, and businessman Sid Richardson assembled a herd of purebred longhorns to save the breed from extinction. They donated the cattle to the Texas Parks Board in 1941.
* 1948: After temporary placements at Lake Corpus Christi and Lake Brownwood state parks faced regional challenges, the Texas Parks Board relocated the animals to Fort Griffin as their permanent headquarters.
* 1969: The 61st Texas Legislature passed formal recognition, officially cementing its status as the state's heritage herd. [1, 2, 3]

For a more detailed look at the history of the State Herd, visit this Texas Historical Commission site:

https://thc.texas.gov/state-historic-sites/official-state-texas-longhorn-herd/state-texas-longhorn-herd-history

05/23/2026

👉 Galveston and Longhorns 👈
It’s not surprising that the historical impact of the Longhorns reached many places …., especially in Texas….
But how about along the Texas coast?

One of the staff members of the State Herd is visiting Galveston this week and, upon investigation, has learned that Galveston Island played a big part in Texas ranching and cattle history?

A great source of information is the Bryan Museum in Galveston. This museum has an exhibit, "Coastal Cowboys: A Brand All Their Own," which focuses on the unique, often overlooked, history of cattle ranching along the Texas Gulf Coast. It highlights how ranchers and cowboys adapted their gear, horses, and techniques to the rugged environment of sand, salt, and sea, covering periods from pre- to post-Civil War through the modern day. [1, 2, 3, 4] (see image below)

One of the biggest surprises is that these Texas cowboys swam thousands of cattle from the mainland across open saltwater to reach Galveston Island's rich grazing lands. This forgotten chapter reveals how the Texas Gulf Coast played a vital role in building the cattle economy that helped shape the state.
(The last two images reflect what this would have looked like as the cattle were forced to swim great distances.)

For further information, see the following sources:

https://www.coastmonthly.com/features/saddles-and-saltgrass/article_9932c7dc-479b-5783-bd83-722d0d26e84d.html

https://www.visitgalveston.com/blog/podcast-galvestons-hidden-cowboy-history/

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05/21/2026

Too cute!
Some of our Longhorn friends sent this short video to us today.
They had two nieces visiting and, of course, the girls wanted to see and interact with some nearby cattle.
The neighboring cattle share many genetics with our State Herd.
Enjoy the reaction of this two year old as she tries to feed these cows.
👀👍

05/12/2026

A lot to post about today!
This is an update about Saturday’s activities at the Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site where the State of Texas Longhorn Herd was represented. Two of our steers, Mo and Dusty, made the trip and were a crowd favorite.
This was day two of this fun and educational event.
…
Before the update, let’s take a breath and think about the connections between the Goodnight Ranch and the State Longhorn Herd. Out of forty plus other State Historic Sites, Goodnight Ranch shares more history with us than any other site.
…
👉 The Longhorn / Trail Drives /Ranching / Connection 👈
Historically, the Longhorns made their biggest impact during the great trail drives. (There couldn’t have even been cattle drives without the cattle.)
One of the most prominent trails was named after its founders ….., Oliver Loving and, of course, Charles Goodnight, … the Goodnight-Loving Trail.
And when Mr. Goodnight got into ranching, the cattle on his ranches were predominantly of the Longhorn stock.
For a more detailed history of Charles Goodnight and the Goodnight Ranch, visit this site:
https://thc.texas.gov/state-historic-sites/goodnight-ranch/goodnight-ranch-history
…
👉Longhorn and Bison Preservation👈
Charles’ wife, Molly, is known for her efforts to save the southern bison herd. This preservation of the bison is another connection with the State Longhorn Herd as it, too, is playing a major role in the preservation of the true, historical Longhorn cattle.
…
Let’s get back to the update on Saturday’s event, the Goodnight Invention Convention.
The basic concept is built around inventions and innovations that happened during the lifetime of Charles Goodnight, 1836-1929.
Texas Historical Commission promoted this as part of the Texas America 250 celebration.
We were not surprised just how interesting and informative this turned out. It’s humbling to realize just how many technologies and different items appeared between 1836 and 1929.
Here’s a partial listing of what was seen at Goodnight Ranch on Saturday:
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* Mission Dolores presenting the Wright Flyer
* Eisenhower Birthplace discussing the evolution of the toilet
* Interactive Morse code demonstrations
* Armstrong County Museum sharing their knowledge of party line telephones
* White Deer Land Museum showcasing a hands-on printing press
* Sam Bell Maxey House presenting on electromagnetism
* Slaton Harvey House providing demonstrations of early communication technology
* Reenactments by the Frontier Regiment of the High Plains
* Cannon demonstrations
* Chuckwagon cooking and demonstrations (Remember that Charles Goodnight invented the chuckwagon)
* Blacksmith demonstrations with a portable forge
* Various fi****ms developed during that era
* Early military tools
* Historical toys
* Early rocket technology
* A look at the innovations of Mason and Spratt —
…. John Landis Mason (think of the Mason jar …. and food preservation)
…. and George Alexander Spratt (think of early rubber sealed jars ….. and early aviation design)
….. and the list goes on…..
….
For more information and a closer look inside the Goodnight Ranch House (which serves as the center of this State Historic Site) this older five minute segment of the television program, The Texas Bucket List, is worth watching.

https://youtu.be/S1W6wdEThJw?si=Ufa8Q7GXfdy-PTC6

Kudos to Lindsay Adams, Site Manager, and all the staff at Goodnight Ranch for an event well done!
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Just a few of our favorite Saturday photos are included below👇👇

05/08/2026

👉 Today the State Longhorn Herd is WAY up in the Texas panhandle 👈
Today was school day for the Goodnight Ranch Invention Convention.
There were about three hundred visitors to this State Historic Site (a Texas Historical Commission sister site to Fort Griffin and to the State Longhorn Herd.)
Tomorrow is another big day as we expect a big crowd to attend.
Attached are several photos taken today.
As you can see, there was a lot of activity. We met a lot of great people and made some new friends.
Our Longhorns were perfectly behaved…., calm and nonchalant. See if you can find the photo below where our steer, Mo, was so un-bothered by the crowd noise that he rolled over and took a nap!
And…. how about the photo of several students with Daniel Ledbetter (one of our State Longhorn staff / red shirt / cowboy hat) as they rubbed on Mo’s back as he lay close to the edge of the pen.
Mo layed there for a good 40-50 minutes while classroom after classroom came close to the pen to pet him.👀👍👍
👀👇👇👇

05/06/2026

👉This past Saturday at Fort Lancaster👈

Here are various photos from the Fort and throughout the day.
Those of us with the State Longhorn Herd are looking forward to going back.
Again, select each photo for additional information.

05/05/2026

Yes, it’s a busy time of year!
We’re getting ready to take a couple of steers to Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site for this weekend.
It’s located just east of Amarillo.
This past weekend, we took two steers in a different direction.
Here’s an update on what happened last Friday.
In the photos, you can see that we entertained and educated around 500 people, most of them school children in Ozona, for the Crockett County History Day.
(TMI - The county was named after Davy Crockett …., but there’s no historical record that he was ever in the county🤔👈👈)
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There were two main areas for this event. In the actual Convention Center building, there were many stations where students could see and experience various things.
Five people came to represent Fort Griffin. Of course, Fort Lancaster personnel were there (and had a big part in organizing this event)
We were set up in an adjacent building, where other animals were on either side of where our steers were located.
….
The event set the standard for organization. Classrooms came, one at a time, giving each station around five minutes with each group.
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Select the photos below for some additional information….
…., and stay tuned for our next post about the following day at Fort Lancaster.

05/04/2026

👉 The State of Texas Longhorn Herd will be represented at Goodnight Ranch this coming weekend 👈
We are looking forward to our visit to one of our sister State Historic Sites.
We send a special invitation to those of you close enough to attend this special event.
This will be our first Invention Convention and we are looking forward to it.
👍

We are just one week away from the Goodnight Invention Convention, and preparations are well underway! 💪

In lieu of this special event, we got Pete the Chuckwagon out for a little spa treatment! We sprayed orange oil all over him so he's ready to go and looking his best for all to see! 😎

Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 9th, from 10 am to 2 pm, and join us at the Goodnight Invention Convention🚂! Experience fascinating inventions from the lifetime of the Goodnights as you explore the historic Goodnight Ranch. Tour the house, meet special guests—including Longhorns from the Official Texas State Herd at Fort Griffin—and enjoy delicious food and refreshments from Porch Swing Eats and Treatz. This exciting event is FREE and open to everyone—bring your friends and family, and be part of this unforgettable day!😁

04/29/2026

Our Longhorns will be on display this Saturday at Fort Lancaster for this big event.
The day before - Friday - we will also be in Ozona, participating in Crocket County History Day.
We expect to see many school children on Friday …., and many people from the area on both days.
👍👍