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55,000 acres in Harding County
ALL IN THE FAMILY
In 1881,
Thomas
Edward Mitchell, already a veteran cowboy at age 17, moved from his
native Colorado to the Tequesquite Valley to manage the
Bar T Cross
Ranch. By the 1890s he had bought the Bar T and bit by bit added
adjoining acreage. He established New Mexico's first herd of
registered Hereford cattle on what would be renamed the
Tequesquite
Ranch. Later Mitchell would serve a term in the
State Senate,
introducing the bill to establish Harding
County. Mitchell died at age 70 in 1934, collapsing while he was
walking to get help after his car broke down near
Gallegos.
Son Albert K. Mitchell was running the Tequesquite, but his day
job was general manager of Red River Valley Co., operators of the
gigantic Bell Ranch down the
road. In 1947, when the Bell was broken up and sold, Albert set out
to expand his own holdings, which included extensive horse
operations. At one point the Tequesquite contained 180,000 acres.
Like his dad, he also served in the state Senate. He died in 1980 at
age 86. His daughter, Linda Mitchell, had married into
Les Davis of
the Springer family, which held the giant
CS Ranch. Six years later,
Albert K's
only son, Albert J. Mitchell, died at age 54 when his plane crashed
on the ranch.
Albert J's four children assumed ownership and management of
the ranch, which had dramatically fallen in size ``due to
circumstances'' as a family history delicately put it. Three of the
kids--Thomas E. Mitchell III and
Terry Robert Mitchell and
Lynda
Mitchell Ray--bought out a fourth sibling,
Albert J. (Scooter)
Mitchell Jr., who became a lawyer in nearby
Tucumcari.
The three live on the ranch and run it largely with family
members reaching into the fifth generation of Mitchell ownership.
Says Lynda Ray, ``Our main concern is improving the land, preserving
it for future generations.''
In case you were wondering why you've never heard of
Albert NM, it's because it's a ghost town,
although the Tequesquite Ranch still uses it as a mailing address.
It's not named for any of the Albert Mitchells, but for a deceased
brother-in-law of T.E. Mitchell. According to family legend, local
residents nominated names and the winner was chosen by lot out of a
hat.
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