R.A. Brown Ranch History

For more than 130 years, the R.A. Brown Ranch has stood as a cornerstone of ranching heritage, producing cattle and Quarter Horses that rank among the finest in the industry. The legacy began in the 1890s, when R.H. Brown ran a livestock commission company in the Fort Worth Stockyards and also began selling Angus bulls. By 1895, he established the ranch in Throckmorton, Texas, and in 1906 brought the first Hereford cattle to Throckmorton County.

His son, R.A. Brown, Sr., inherited his father’s grit and vision. At just 15, he left school to help the ranch survive a devastating drought and the brutal winter of 1917. Hauling wagonloads of hides 60 miles to Abilene, he traded for cottonseed cake to keep the herd alive. Upon his father’s passing, he took the reins, building the ranch with a progressive eye for both cattle and horses. R.A. Brown, Sr. was later honored as one of the founders of the American Quarter Horse Association and enshrined in its Hall of Fame.

In 1965, his son R.A. “Rob” Brown, Jr. assumed leadership at just 26 years old. Alongside his wife Peggy, he steered the ranch through decades of growth and change. Today, the ranch remains in the family, now owned and operated by their four children—Jody and Betsy Bellah, Rob A. and Talley Brown, Todd and Marianne McCartney, and Donnell and Kelli Brown. Their guiding principle endures: “Keep the ranch in the family, and the family in the ranch.” The seventh generation of family members are now learning the “ropes”.

The Throckmorton location remains the heart of the ranch, home to the seedstock herd and the site of the biannual March and October sales, where over 850 head of Angus, Red Angus, and SimAngus bulls, as well as Quarter Horses, are marketed nationwide.