History of
Maddux Cattle Company
The Maddux family first arrived in southwest Nebraska in the early 1880s from Iowa, after a stint in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area. Taylor Maddux, a horse man by nature, had his first business in McCook, Nebraska as a proprietor of a livery stable. In 1886, Taylor and his wife, Clara, homesteaded 11 miles north of Wauneta on Stinking Water Creek. Taylor spent the first 10 years of homesteading, running the livery barn in McCook and returning to the homestead to see his wife and small children, Earl and Daisy, on weekends. He rode his trusted horse, “Sank” back and forth the 50 miles between McCook and the homestead. Clara and her two children lived in the family’s sod house and “proved up” on the homestead while Taylor managed the business in McCook.
In 1896, Taylor sold his livery business, purchased additional Angus cows, and moved permanently, to the family homestead north of Wauneta. By then, the family included four more children, Helen, Glen, Wilfred and Cecil. Taylor and Clara Maddux first expanded their holdings in the 1890s when there was a drought and many homesteaders panicked and moved away. Taylor traded a saddle, pair of spurs and a bronc horse for a parcel of land adjoining their homestead.
Glen took over the Maddux homestead when Taylor died in 1916. Glen and his brother, Wilfred, formed Maddux Brothers Co. at that time and were pioneer cattle feeders in the area. Their home raised calves were fed out starting in 1918 and expanded as they purchased yearlings and 2-year-old steers to feed. Finished fat cattle were loaded on railcars and shipped to the St. Joseph, Missouri stockyards to be sold and slaughtered. While Maddux’s quit feeding cattle to slaughter in 2009, after 90 years of continuous cattle finishing, cattle backgrounding continues at that site until present day. The ranch expanded in the 1930’s with the purchase of different ranches in the sandy country on Spring Creek to the west of the home place. The additional rangeland in these purchases allowed the cowherd to grow in numbers. Wilfred died in 1945 and Glen continued to run his share of the operation until his death in 1958.
Jack Maddux graduated from Wauneta High School in 1949 and earned a degree in Animal Science from Colorado State University in 1953. He served in U.S. Air Force as a jet instructor, returning home in 1956. Following his father’s death in 1958, Jack took over management of the operation. Jack and his brother, Gene, formed Maddux Cattle Company in 1962. They had foresight and began expanding their land holdings right away, with additional land purchases.
Jack’s wife, Carol, graduated from Chase County High School in Imperial and went on to earn a degree in Home Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1958. Jack and Carol were married in December after her graduation. Their union was blessed with three children—John, Sandra and Mary. From very early in their marriage Carol was deeply involved in the cattle operation when she and her mother–in-law would carry meals to the hay and harvest crews. In the 1970s she began doing all the bookwork for the operation. Under Jack’s management the ranch grew in size and irrigation was developed. There was a continued focus on cows and feeding cattle as Jack’s father had done.
In 1998 Jack and Carol’s son, John, joined the management of the operation after graduating from UN-L, receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago and working on Wall Street for 12 years. When John returned home, he moved to the 2S ranch, which he had purchased from Basil Bentz north of Imperial. The 2S Ranch is run in conjunction with Maddux Cattle Company. John, his wife Julia along with their two sons, Taylor and Tomas, are the fourth and fifth generation of Maddux’s operating the ranch.
Carol and Jack are quick to share their successes with their many long-time employees, “Any success we’ve had is due to wonderful employees we’ve had throughout the years,” Carol expressed. Their long-time employees included Willard Yost, who served as their foreman for 53 years. Jack says, “Willard taught me, my brother Gene and my children how to work. He was a stoic and revered figure to us who showed us how, not to sweat in the heat and how not to shiver in the cold.” Harlow Hill recently retired as foremen but still works for Maddux Cattle Company. This is his 41st year on the ranch. The late Dennis Lucas served as the Feed Yard manager for 31 years. Bud McBride has been in charge of farming for 40 years. Bud took over the farming reins from George Hallet, who was a 50-year employee, starting to work on the ranch when he was just 13. Several other present employees have been on the ranch with multiple decades of service. Robert Brosius is the present Ranch Manager.
Today the Maddux’s operation consists of their 2400 head cow herd and a several thousand head yearling operation. With over 50,000 acres of owned and leased land in Nebraska and multiple grazing leases in Wyoming, the Maddux Ranch markets 5000+ yearlings every year. A major focus in on managing rangelands with farming and irrigation utilized to support their cattle production. Through the dedicated effort of all their employees, the Maddux family is continuing their legacy today with 134 years of cattle production in southwest Nebraska.