Hilory G. Bedford helped establish the first settlement in Knox County by founding Benjamin in 1885 to assure local families church and school privileges, naming the town for his eldest son, giving 640 acres for the townsite, reserving 40 acres for a public square, and selling the remainder to area families at $5 per tract. In 1886 he was instrumental in organizing the county with Benjamin as the county seat. In 1884 Bedford had formed the Wichita and Brazos Stock Company to own and operate the L Bar Ranch, retaining 51% of the stock as president while R.P. Dimmitt served as secretary. Many of Benjamin's first settlers sold their land and cattle to the company and became stockholders, and the company maintained a herd of some 8,000 cattle on open range between the Wichita and Brazos rivers, with headquarters 4 miles N.E. of the Narrows near the center of the present John Ed Jones Ranch. Its brand was S on the neck and L– on the left side. The ranch prospered until the winter of 1886, when severe drouth, overstocked range, blizzard conditions called "The Big Die of the 80's," and a sharp drop in prices led to the company's dissolution and disposal of the ranch in 1887.