Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836 – December 12, 1929), also known as Charlie Goodnight, was a rancher in the American West. In 1955, he was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American ...

of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Early years

Goodnight was born in Macoupin County, Illinois, northeast of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, the fourth child of Charles Goodnight and the former Charlotte Collier. Goodnight's father's grave is located in a pasture south of

Bunker Hill, Illinois Bunker Hill is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,630 at the 2020 census, down from 1,774 in 2010. History Settlement The original inhabitants of the Bunker Hill area were the Peoria people, Kickapoo peopl ...

. Goodnight was descended from immigrant pioneer Hans Michael Gutknecht, from

Mannheim, Germany Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

, making him a distant relative of

Harry S Truman Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

. Goodnight moved to Texas in 1846 with his mother and

stepfather A stepfather or stepdad is a non-biological male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren. Culture Though less comm ...

, Hiram Daugherty. In 1856, he became a cowboy and served with the local

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, fighting against Comanche raiders. A year later, in 1857, Goodnight joined the Texas Rangers. Goodnight is also known for raising and leading a posse against the Comanche in 1860 that located the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

camp where

Cynthia Ann Parker Cynthia Ann Parker (October 28, 1827 – March 1871), also known as Naduah (Comanche: ''Narua''), was a white woman who was notable for having been captured during the Fort Parker massacre at about age nine, by a Comanche war band and adopted in ...

was living with her husband, Peta Nocona, then guiding Texas Rangers to the camp, leading to Cynthia Ann's recapture. He later made a treaty with her son,

Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...

. His father owned a ranch that expanded to . At the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he joined the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. Most of his time was spent as part of a frontier regiment guarding against raids by Indians. Goodnight described what it took to become a scout, "First, he must be born a natural woodsman and have the faculty of never needing a compass except in snow storms or darkness."

Cattle

Following the war, he became involved in the herding of feral

Texas Longhorn The Texas Longhorn is an American breed of beef cattle, characterized by its long horns, which can span more than from tip to tip. It derives from cattle brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas by Spanish conquistadores from the t ...

cattle northward from

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

to railroads. This "making the gather" was a near-statewide round-up of cattle that had roamed free during the four long years of war. In 1866,

Oliver Loving Oliver Loving (December 4, 1812 – September 25, 1867) was an American rancher and cattle driver. Together with Charles Goodnight, he developed the Goodnight-Loving Trail. He was mortally wounded by Native Americans while on a cattle drive. ...

and he drove their first herd of cattle along what would become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail. Gathering their herd near the headwaters of the Brazos River, they headed southwest, crossed the Pecos River at Horsehead Crossing and then followed the river north into New Mexico to Ft. Sumner where they sold their herd to the Army. Such a circuitous route was necessary to avoid the Comanche stronghold in the

Staked Plains The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...

(the sizeable area roughly centered around present day Lubbock, Texas). Later in the partnership with Loving, as they extended the trail northward they pastured cattle at such sites as Capulin Mountain in northeastern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

. Goodnight invented the

chuckwagon A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed ...

, which was first used on the initial cattle drive. Upon arriving in New Mexico, they formed a partnership with New Mexico cattleman

John Chisum John Simpson Chisum (August 16, 1824 – December 23, 1884) was a wealthy cattle baron in the American West in the mid-to-late 19th century. He was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, and moved with his family to the Republic of Texas in 1837, ...

for future contracts to supply the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

with cattle. After Loving's death, Goodnight and Chisum extended the trail from New Mexico to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, and eventually to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. The Goodnight-Loving Trail extended from Belknap, Texas, to

Fort Sumner, New Mexico Fort Sumner is a village in and the county seat of De Baca County, New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex ...

. Goodnight and Loving were close friends. Goodnight sat by Loving's bed during the two weeks the latter took to die, and reportedly kept a photograph of Loving in his pocket long after his death, and later put a photograph on his desk. To take advantage of available grass, timber, water, and game, Goodnight founded in 1876 what was to become the first

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

ranch, the JA Ranch, in the

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a ...

Bison

In addition to raising cattle 1876, the Goodnights preserved a herd of native plains bison that year, which is said to survive to this day in Caprock Canyons State Park. The herd in Caprock Canyons was actually donated by JA Ranch and no documentation demonstrates that this was the herd preserved by the Goodnights. Bison of this herd were introduced into the

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

in 1902 and into the larger zoos and ranches throughout the nation. He also crossbred the bison with domestic cattle, which he called cattalo.

Personal life

On July 26, 1870, Goodnight married Mary Ann "Molly" Dyer, a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

from Weatherford, west of Fort Worth. Goodnight developed a practical

sidesaddle Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows female riders to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a way f ...

for Molly. After Molly died in April 1926, Goodnight became ill himself. He was nursed back to health by a distant paternal cousin, 26-year-old

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

operator from Butte, Montana, named Corinne Goodnight, with whom Charles had been corresponding because of their shared surname. On March 5, 1927, his 91st birthday, Goodnight married Corinne, who was young enough to be his great-granddaughter and who soon miscarried their unborn child. Her name was hence Corinne Goodnight Goodnight.Billy Hathorn, "Review of ''Charles Goodnight: Father of the Texas Panhandle''", '' West Texas Historical Review'', Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 195-196 He joined her

Two by Twos Two by Twos is one of the names used to denote an international, home-based new religious movement that has its origins in Ireland at the end of the 19th century. Among members, the church is typically referred to as "The Truth" or "The Way ...

church and was baptized a few months before his death in his winter home in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Evetts Haley had described Goodnight as "deeply religious and reverential by nature."Charles Goodnight exhibit, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas He is buried next to his first wife, Mary Ann, in the Goodnight Cemetery near

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

Goodnight Ranch House restoration

The

Charles and Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight Ranch House The Charles and Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight Ranch House, near Goodnight, Texas, was built in 1888. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. It is located in Armstrong County, Texas at US Route 287, US 287 and 5000 Block ...

is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Goodnight home is located one-quarter mile (400 m) south of U.S. Highway 287 about east of Amarillo. The home was renovated by the Armstrong County Museum from 2006 to 2012. The structure was painted to resemble its appearance in 1887. The interior was restored based on research into the original paint and wallpapers used. In 2005, Amarillo businessman Brent Caviness and a partner donated the home and . Mary Ann Goodnight taught children in the bunkhouse. The cowboys slept there at night, and she moved their things aside for school during the day, Goodin said. The house was scheduled to open in April 2013.

Reputation

Goodnight is presented as a good and decent man. J. Frank Dobie, who knew Goodnight, is quoted in ''Charles Goodnight: Father of the Texas Panhandle'' as having said: "I have met a lot of good men, several fine gentlemen, hordes of cunning climbers, plenty of loud-braying asses and plenty of dumb oxen, but I haven't lived long enough or traveled far enough to meet more than two or three men I'd call great. This is a word I will not bandy around. To me, Charles Goodnight was great-natured." Other views have been expressed. In Time-Life's 1973 publication ''The Cowboys'', the author states (p. 62): "Goodnight was no better than the rest. Once when his wife expressed shock at some vigilante hangings ('I understand', she exclaimed, 'they hanged them to a telegraph pole!') Charlie replied quietly, 'Well, I don't think it hurt the telegraph pole.' What she didn't know was that the victims had actually been strung up with Goodnight's full approval." The men hanged were caught in the act of murder and cattle rustling.

In literature

The western novelist Matt Braun's novel ''Texas Empire'' is based on the life of Goodnight and fictionalizes the founding of the JA Ranch. ''The Goodnight Trail'' is the name of a novel by Ralph Compton. Similarly,

Mari Sandoz Mari Susette Sandoz (May 11, 1896 – March 10, 1966) was a Nebraska novelist, biographer, lecturer, and teacher. She became one of the West's foremost writers, and wrote extensively about pioneer life and the Plains Indians.Bristow, Dav ...

's ''Old Jules Country'' in the part "Some dedicated men" relates the difficulties of Goodnight's cattle drives to Colorado. In James A. Michener's novel, ''

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

'', the Skimmerhorn Trail is based on the actual Goodnight-Loving Trail. In addition, his name is mentioned in the novel; the character R. J. Poteet appears to have been based on Goodnight. All four of

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

Lonesome Dove series The ''Lonesome Dove'' series is a series of four western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them. Overview The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several member ...

novels include brief appearances by Goodnight. His appearance in the prequel '' Dead Man's Walk'' is historically inaccurate. The story takes place during the Santa Fe Expedition of 1841, when Goodnight would have been only five years old. Further, ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...

'' is a fictionalized account of Goodnight and Loving's third cattle drive. Woodrow F. Call represents Goodnight, Augustus McCrae is Oliver Loving. Though the characters have personalities rather different from their real-life counterparts, the novel borrows heavily from actual events, in particular Loving's ambush by Indians and Goodnight's attentive care as Loving died from an arrow-induced infection. Call returns McCrae's body to Texas, just as Goodnight returned Loving for burial in Weatherford. The marker that Call carves for Deets is based on an epitaph Charles Goodnight created for Bose Ikard, an ex-slave who worked alongside Goodnight most of his life. He also plays his largest role in the final volume, '' Streets of Laredo''. He is played in the miniseries '' Dead Man's Walk'' by

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast a ...

, in ''

Comanche Moon ''Comanche Moon'' (1997) is a western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the fourth and final book he published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series. In terms of chronology, it is the second installment of the narrative. A Comanche Moon ...

'' by

Jeremy Ratchford Jeremy Ratchford (born August 6, 1965) is a Canadian actor. He starred as Nick Vera on the TV series ''Cold Case''. Career While in Canada, Ratchford played Marvel Comic book character Banshee in the live action TV super hero film ''Generati ...

, and in '' Streets of Laredo'' by

James Gammon James Richard Gammon (April 20, 1940 – July 16, 2010) was an American actor, known for playing grizzled " good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series. Gammon portrayed Lou Brown, the manager in the movies '' Major League'' and ...

In popular culture

The song " The Goodnight-Loving Trail" by

Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...

describes a

cook on a cattle drive. The West Texas songwriter Andy Wilkinson wrote "Charlie Goodnight: His Life in Poetry and Song". The CD was produced by

Lloyd Maines Lloyd Wayne Maines (born June 28, 1951) is an American country music record producer, musician and songwriter. He was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame as one of the first three members, the other two being Willie Nelson and Stev ...

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. Albertan

Ian Tyson Ian Dawson Tyson (September 25, 1933 – December 29, 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who wrote several folk songs, including " Four Strong Winds" and " Someday Soon", and performed with partner Sylvia Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. Ea ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, wrote a song "Charles Goodnight's Grave", about leaving

bandanna A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative pur ...

s near the Goodnight grave. Singer

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

's song about Texas, "Red River", includes the line "Here's to Charlie Goodnight, and Mr. Loving too, and here's to Coronado, the Comanche and the Blues, and here's to the bootleggers, and the oilfield crews, and here's to one and all of us Red River fools." The actor Jack Mather played Goodnight in the episode "Old Blue" of the

syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', hosted by

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

. The episode focuses on Goodnight's lead steer, Old Blue, who is stolen and thereafter adopted as a family pet. Goodnight's name was mentioned in the episode "The Brother-in-Law" of the television series ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'' (initially aired in October 1958 as episode five of the show's first season). Actor

played Goodnight in the

Dead Man's Walk (miniseries) Dead Man's Walk is an American epic Western adventure television miniseries starring David Arquette as Augustus McCrae and Jonny Lee Miller as Woodrow F. Call. It was directed by Yves Simoneau. It is a two-part adaptation of the 1995 novel of th ...

. Actor/producer Taylor Sheridan played Goodnight in Season 1, Episode 7 (“Lightning Yellow Hair”) and Episode 8 (“The Weep of Surrender”) of the television show

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

Namesakes

The following are named for Goodnight: * Charles Goodnight Memorial Trail * Former town of Goodnight (now a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

) in Armstrong County, site of the former Goodnight Baptist College, and birthplace in 1920 of

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

Cullen M. Crain * The highway to Palo Duro Canyon State Park east of Canyon, Texas
Goodnight Elementary School
Pueblo, Colorado
Goodnight Middle School
San Marcos, Texas * A street in Pueblo, Colorado * A cabin at

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

Camp Carter in Fort Worth, Texas * A street in Mansfield, Texas, off of Debbie Lane * A street in Alto,

, outside Ruidoso, is named the Goodnight-Loving Trail. * A street in

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

, Texas, off F.M. 407 (Goodnight Trail), part of Fort Worth, is located near the Texas Motor Speedway. Part of the subdivision Reatta Ridge also has names such as Loving, Chinos, and Lone Star within the subdivision.

Goodnight

References

External links

Charles Goodnight Historical Center

* ttp://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-CharlesGoodnight.html Legends of America- Charles Goodnight*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodnight, Charles 1836 births Northern-born Confederates 1929 deaths Cowboys American cattlemen American pioneers Ranchers from Texas Members of the Texas Ranger Division People of the American Old West People from Macoupin County, Illinois People from Pueblo, Colorado People from Amarillo, Texas People from Clarendon, Texas Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Confederate States Army soldiers American Pentecostals National Register of Historic Places in Randall County, Texas People from Armstrong County, Texas