Swenson Land and Cattle Company Headquarters

Swenson's land came from trade. At his Austin store and bank, opened in 1850, he swapped saddles, boots, blankets and supplies for railroad land certificates and used them from 1854 to file on unclaimed land in Northwest Texas. The Handbook of Texas also credits him with introducing his friend Samuel Colt's revolver to the Texas Navy and army and with first shipping Texas pecans north and east. Opposed to secession, he went into exile in Mexico, later moved to New York and founded S. M. Swenson and Sons. He named the first three West Texas ranches for his children.

What the plaque says

Businessman Swen (Svante) Magnus Swenson (1816-1896), first Swedish settler in Texas, is closely associated with Sam Houston and his effort to keep Texas in the Union prior to the Civil War. In 1854 Swenson purchased large land tracts here which he greatly expanded by the mid-1880s with school tracts and railroad scrips. A a result of new state taxes on land Swenson leased his West Texas land to his sons Eric Pierson and Swen Albin in 1882. Eric and Swen formed the Swenson Brothers partnership and by 1885 their ranching operations consisted of 1800 shorthorn and 180 Indiana pure crossbred Hereford-shorthorn cows bearing a distinctive reversed (SMS) cattle brand still in use today. Initially comprised of the Flat Top, Ericksdahl, and Throckmorton ranches, the Swenson family holdings were expanded to include the Tongue River Ranch in 1900 and the Spur Ranch in 1906, making it one of the largest ranches in Texas with over 500,000 acres. Swenson Land & Cattle Company, incorporated in 1926, established its headquarters here in 1927. It is noted for its introduction of an innovative mail-order system for selling cattle, brush management programs, and integrated ranching operations. The ranch was divided into four separate family-owned corporations in 1978. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Phantom Hill — 22 mi
  A field of lone stone chimneys north of Abilene, left by the fire after the Army left in 1854, later a stage stop and a buffalo-hide town of more than 500 people.

More markers nearby

• Stamford — 0.6 mi
• "The Poet Ranchman" Larry Chittenden — 1.1 mi
• Texas Cowboy Reunion Oldtimers' Association — 1.1 mi
• Spring Creek Cemetery — 6.3 mi