Henry H. Campbell

Henry Harrison Campbell, a native of North Carolina, came to Texas with his family in 1854. After serving in the Confederate army, he worked as a cattle drover. In 1879 he and four other investors founded the Matador Ranch at Ballard Springs, ten miles southeast. His wife, Elizabeth Bundy, joined him there in 1880 and, refusing to live in a dugout, camped in a tent until lumber arrived for a two-room house. She served as hostess and nurse at the ranch and later became postmistress at Matador. In its first three years, the Matador Ranch grew to 40,000 head of cattle on 100,000 acres, with an additional 1.5 million acres of free range rights. In 1882 a Scottish syndicate, The Matador Land & Cattle Company, LTD., bought the ranch, and Campbell remained associated with it as superintendent until 1890. He led efforts to create Motley County in 1891, served two terms as county judge, then retired to focus on his ranch interests on Dutchman Creek. He died in Matador on May 23, 1911.

Texas · United States