Stamford Built Its Cowboy Reunion for Working Hands

In February 1930, thirteen Stamford businessmen wanted a local celebration during the Depression. Large ranches surrounded town. They built the Texas Cowboy Reunion around working cowhands, not professional rodeo riders.

Ninety-eight cowboys entered the first reunion. The program had calf roping, wild-cow milking, steer riding, and bronc riding. Twelve thousand people came over three days. Barrel racing for invited sponsors began there in 1931. The Old-Timers Association gathered men who had worked cattle before 1895.

A THC marker west of the Stamford square records 335 old-timers at the 1930 gathering. A donated bull started a building fund for the bunkhouse and roundup hall. Ranch brands still cover the bunkhouse. Those brands tell the story: this rodeo began as a reunion of ranch people who knew one another's outfits.