XIT General Office

The legendary XIT ranch in its heyday covered some three million acres in the Texas Panhandle; it was nine counties long and one county-wide. The land was originally granted to a syndicate of British investors, the Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company Ltd, who received the property in exchange for building the present State Capitol in Austin (National Register, 1970). The ranch lands, however, were largely sold off, and most associated structures were lost, leaving the late Victorian General Office in Channing with as strong an association with the XIT as any other surviving structure.

The history of the vast XIT Ranch has been recorded several times. It came into existence in the 1880s when the success of the Texas cattle boom was known in many parts of the world, and its promise was not altogether fulfilled. The destruction by fire of Austin's 1851 Capitol in 1881 necessitated the construction of a new and modern structure befitting Texas' ascribed status, but the State Legislature of the period had much more land than money. An agreement was thus worked out by which British and Chicago businessmen would receive a three-million-acre land grant in exchange for constructing the new E. E. Meyers capitol building.

The vast XIT Ranch, as it came to be called, was much too large to be effectively administered as a single unit, since it averaged 150,000 head of cattle and by 1900 contained some 1,500 miles of fencing. Shortly after the turn of the century, the first of its lands were sold off (in 1901), and the remaining acreage was disposed of in the next few decades. The breakup of the XIT enabled individuals to settle and farm or ranch the western Panhandle. The XIT Ranch Headquarters was first located in Tascosa, Hartley County. Desiring greater control of his company town, ranch manager A.G. Boyce moved the headquarters in 1890 to nearby Channing, and by 1903 had secured the relocation of the county courthouse from Hartley to Channing. Upon completion of the 1906 courthouse, the original frame courthouse was moved to Channing by XIT Cowboys on Wheels and transformed into a hotel. To ensure the dominance of Channing, Boyce saw to it that Tascosa was bypassed by the railroad in favor of the former. Boyce also was responsible for the construction of a new General Office for the ranch opposite his own house (now altered and deteriorating). The structure was modest, considering the size of the ranch, but it featured solid masonry construction and elegant Eastlake/Italianate stylistic detailing. Containing ranch offices as well as his own private office, the building housed the headquarters offices until 1914. After its sale, it was converted into a private residence, which it remained until its acquisition by the present owners.

Despite the colossal size of the ranch, only a handful of structures remain with any documented association with the XIT. Most have been altered, moved, become ruinous, or were not of great significance to begin with, leaving the General Office at Channing with as strong an association with the ranch as any surviving structure. Even without its historical associations, the present structure would be considered remarkable for its date, architecture, and the fact that it retains its essential integrity. It remains a source of pride to the citizens of Channing, Hartley County, and the Texas Panhandle.