09/07/2026
ππ¨π§π ππππ¨π«π ππππ¨π« πππ² πππππ¦π π π§πππ’π¨π§ππ₯ π‘π¨π₯π’πππ², Texas cowboys staged a labor protest of their own.
In 1883, ranch hands working for five large ranches in the Texas Panhandle went on strike.
The cattle industry was changing. Large investment companies were buying ranches and ending customs that had once allowed cowboys to receive calves as part of their compensation, brand unclaimed mavericks, or keep small herds of their own. The work remained long, skilled, and dangerousβbut the cowboysβ independence and opportunities were disappearing.
They chose the spring roundup to demand better wages and fairer treatment. Although newspapers predicted violence and even a βrange war,β the strike remained peaceful.
After about 2Β½ months, the ranches hired replacement workers, and the strike ended without achieving its larger goals.
It may not have changed the cattle industry, but the Cowboy Strike of 1883 left behind an important reminder: πβπ βππ π‘πππ¦ ππ πππ₯ππ ππππ π€ππ ππ’πππ‘ πππ‘ ππππ¦ ππ¦ π‘βππ π π€βπ ππ€πππ ππ‘βππ’π‘ ππ¦ π‘βππ π π€βπ π€πππππ ππ‘.
This Labor Day, we honor the generations of ranch hands, farmers, fence builders, equipment operators, and others whose hard work has cared forβand continues to care forβTexas land.
Happy Labor Day from Brand X Land & Ranch Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper, REALTORS, Kendrick Baros, Joe Doran, Matt Thigpen, Will Roeske