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1	Cattle Capitol: Misrepresented Environments, Nineteenth Century Symbols of Power, and the Construction of the Texas State House, 1879-1888 Miller, Michael M. 05 1900 (has links) State officials, between 1882 and 1888, exchanged three million acres of Texas Panhandle property for construction of the monumental Capitol that continues to house Texas government today. The project and the land went to a Chicago syndicate led by men influential in business and politics. The red granite Austin State House is a recognizable symbol of Texas around the world. So too, the massive tract given in exchange for the building, what became the "fabulous" XIT Ranch, also has come to symbolize the height of the nineteenth century cattle industry. That eastern and foreign capital dominated the cattle business during this period is lesser known, absorbed by the mythology built around the Texas cattle-trail period - all but at an end in 1885. This study examines the interaction of Illinois Republicans and Texas Democrats in their actions and efforts to create what have become two of Texas's most treasured symbols. XIT ranch American West Taylor Abner panhandle Texas capital cattle ranching
2	Cattle Capitalists: The XIT Empire in Texas and Montana Miller, Michael M. 12 1900 (has links) The Texas Constitution of 1876 set aside three million acres of Texas public land in exchange for construction of the monumental red granite Capitol that continues to house Texas state government today. The Capitol project and the land went to an Illinois syndicate led by men influential in business and politics. Austin's statehouse is a recognizable symbol of Texas around the world. So too, the massive Panhandle tract given in exchange -- what became the "fabulous" XIT Ranch -- has come to, for many, symbolize Texas and its role in the nineteenth century cattle boom. After finding sales prospects for the land, known as the Capitol Reservation, weak at the time, backed by British capital, the Illinois group, often called the Capitol Syndicate, turned their efforts to cattle ranching to satisfy investors until demand for the land increased. The operation included a satellite ranch in Montana to which two-year-old steers from Texas were sent for fattening, often "over the trail" on a route increasingly blocked by people and settlement. Rather than a study focused on ranching operations on the ground -- the roundups, the cattle drives, the cowboys -- this instead uncovers the business and political side of the Syndicate's ranching operation, headquartered in Chicago. The operation of the XIT Ranch looked more like other Gilded Age businesses employing armies of clerks, bookkeepers, and secretaries instead of how great western ranches have been portrayed for years in popular literature and media. The XIT Ranch existed from 1885 to 1912, yet from Texas to Montana the operation left a deep imprint on community culture and historical memory. cattle ranching American west Texas Montana cowboys Capitol capital capitalism imperialism beef trust beef business XIT Ranch Capitol Reservation Great Plains public land range cattle stock growers land sales land policy XIT Ranch (Tex.) -- History. Ranches -- Texas -- History. Ranches -- Montana -- History. Cattle trade -- Texas -- History. Cattle trade -- Montana -- History.

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Cattle Capitol: Misrepresented Environments, Nineteenth Century Symbols of Power, and the Construction of the Texas State House, 1879-1888

Cattle Capitalists: The XIT Empire in Texas and Montana