A History Twisted to the Benefit of a "Hero"

The Mason-Dixon Line, a line named after Charles Dixon and Jeremiah Nixon, was created in the 1760s. However, it was not named until later. This line separated the North from the South, not only geographically, but it also separated the states that considered blacks as free or as slaves. This line has great significance in history, because, though not a physical boundary, it created a clear border. Charles Goodnight helped in co-establishing a line very similar to the Mason-Dixon Line. Though Goodnight’s line was called the Goodnight-Loving Trail and did not create a border, it created a trail from Belknap, Texas to Fort Sumner, New Mexico. It became one of the most traveled cow trails in the southwest. This was one of many things that Goodnight did to create a persona for himself causing people, especially people in West Texas, to see him as a myth and a legend. Though Goodnight is considered the “Father of the Panhandle,” there is more to this man than myths and heroics.

Charles Goodnight was born in 1836 in Illinois and he moved to Texas when he was 10 years old. By the time he was 20, he was already moving cattle. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1857 and later fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After the war ended, he returned to the cattle business. This was when the partnership between Goodnight and Oliver Loving came to be. Together they formed the Goodnight-Loving trail. After the death of Loving, Goodnight continued to make cattle trails, one being the Goodnight Trail from Alamogordo Creek, New Mexico, to Granada, Colorado.

Goodnight then moved himself and his operations back to Texas, near Palo Duro Canyon, where he started a ranch. He eventually began a partnership with John. G. Adair. This partnership produced a ranch that spanned more than a million acres with a herd of one hundred thousand head. Goodnight was also a pioneer in cattle breeding, creating a longhorn breed that could be independent and commercially lucrative by crossing the traditional Herefords with Texas longhorns. He also produced the first “cattalo” by crossing buffalo with cattle.

After several ups and downs—the ups included marrying Mary Ann (Molly) Dyer, while the downs included losing much of his fortune—he made a deal with Adair that resulted in the establishment of the JA Ranch, where Goodnight had one-third interest and an annual salary of $2,500 as resident manager. He then blazed the Palo Duro-Dodge City trail after he took his first JA trail herd in the summer of 1878. Many Panhandle ranchers used this trail.

One of Goodnight’s known qualities was his love of justice. With his enforcing of justice forging trails, many saw him as a hero, as a man who made the Panhandle what it is today. But with many powerful men, there is always an equally, if not more, powerful woman behind them. Molly’s endeavors are much less recognized than Charles’. Though one way they are equal is that he is considered the “Father of the Panhandle,” and she the “Mother of the Panhandle.” Molly was the only woman on the ranch during their early years at Palo Duro. She was the caretaker and the mother-figure for the ranch hands, Adair and Goodnight.

Another name Charles is given is “the fellow that saved the American Bison.” This is an incorrect title because if it hadn’t been for Molly, Charles would have had the name “the fellow that had a large hand in causing the American Bison to go extinct.” If it weren’t for Molly, the Goodnight buffalo herd would not be what it is, or it might not even exist at all. She protected the baby buffalos that were left to die after commercial hunters did as they pleased in the Plains. She rescued and raised them, and this is what helped create the Goodnight buffalo herd. Molly also played a hand in the practice of buffalo and range-cattle crossbreeding, producing a new breed called “Cattalo.” Under her PATM brand in Colorado and under the Flying T in Texas, she also had a separate herd.

Without Molly there wouldn’t be the J. C. Cowles’ paintings of their home and the Palo Duro Canyon Ranch area. She reached out and hired him to come in and work, painting their home and the beauty that Palo Duro held. She also offered any help she could give after the population increased in the Panhandle, by helping with starting schools, churches, stores. She even had a hand in establishing Goodnight College. Molly faithfully helped her husband and anyone who crossed paths with her. Without Molly’s gentle touch and motherly love, Charles Goodnight may not have been remembered and honored as he is today.

Often times when people are regarded as heroes, statues are put up in their name. Greek art has set the standard for statues for centuries. You can see this standard repeated in the stance of statues from the classical past, through the years in paintings of heroes such as Napoleon Bonaparte and George Washington, in the statues of Texas heroes like Davey Crockett and Sam Houston, and in that of the Panhandle’s very own, Charles Goodnight. All of these statues are common in their larger than life sizes, though Goodnight is made of bronze, and some of Crockett are marble, some bronze, with Houston’s most iconic being marble and even bigger than the others, they are all in a stance of power, their faces stern, fierce, no smiles. These are all men of power and great status in the eyes of the public, but do they all deserve it? As far as women go, Greece also portrayed them in stances that was fitting to their beauty and body. They were often posed in an ‘S’ formation good that best showed off the curves that women have. But Molly Goodnight, “The Mother of the Panhandle,” is not posed so. Her statue, which appears on WT Campus, though fitting for her mother-like qualities and animal-protecting heart, does not put her in a stance worthy of someone who did so much, her stance is making assumptions, as if she needs to placed in a protective stance, modeling her mother-like qualities. She should get a stance of power, yet still giving her feminine qualities, the standard ‘S’ formation would do her justice.

At West Texas A&M, a school that may have never begun if not for the Goodnight’s work in the Panhandle, there is a statue of Charles Goodnight and one of Molly Goodnight. The one of Charles is located near the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and has a plaque signifying who it is and why they are significant. He is standing tall and proud, in the manner of George Washington or an unidentified Greek statue. Molly’s is located near the Cornette Library on the north side. There is no plaque signifying who it is or why she is important. It is simply her with the calves. Many people do not even know who it is, nor do they know why she is there and why deserves a place on WT’s campus.

It wasn’t until this year that I personally found out who she was. My freshman year, which was in 2013, I saw a post on Twitter with a picture of her and some freshmen males, the caption reading “Only at WT do you a find a weird statue of a lady with some cows, wtf?”

Molly Goodnight deserves better than that. She is a part of our heritage in the Panhandle and at WT, a part of our history. Without her, WT’s mascot may have been the Herefords. It could also have been the Longhorns, which was also a Goodnight legacy. But it is the Buffalos, in large part because of Molly.

After looking into Charles and Molly Goodnight’s history, it brings up the question, “how many other men are misconstrued as heroes, when in reality, without their wife or a woman by their side, they would be considered a villain or a monster?” Molly Goodnight helped the Texas Panhandle become what it is today. WT’s mascot is named on behalf of the creatures she saved. There is a town named after the Goodnights, not just Charles but Molly too. Though many would consider the town to be named in honor of Charles, without Molly, it may be named Adair, Texas.

This case study has proven for me that history can easily be swayed. Many have said that history is written by the one who wins. Though there was often no physical battle or war related to the cause, women have been battling for their rights since time began. The work that Molly did with very little credit shows this to be true. Molly Goodnight had a larger hand in our heritage than she is given credit for but the lion’s share of the credit was given to her husband. This shows that the history of our home, our university, can easily be skewed, proving that if someone has enough power, they can make history as they want it to be. Looking at the history of what I consider my homes makes me worried; what else has been changed to benefit one person over another?