Daulton is famous name in cattle industry
For The Madera Tribune
Henry Clay Daulton I.
[From the 1955 archives of the Madera Tribune]
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One of the oldest names in the California livestock business is Daulton, associated for more than 100 years with livestock and with Herefords of outstanding quality. One of the state’s great grass ranges is the Daulton Ranch which was chosen by Henry Clay Daulton Sr. over 100 years ago. It was in 1850 that young Henry Clay Daulton came west, first stopping in what is now Pasadena, but continuing to the foothills east of Madera in 1853 where he settled on several hundred acres. He later acquired a total of 21,000 acres of land and from that day until now there have been Daultons identified with the livestock growth of Madera county.
Henry Clay turned to the materials at hand to build his empire which was first stocked with sheep. He built miles and miles of fence from the native rock which abounds in that area and even today many miles of rock fence are still doing duty, He built a long rambling ranch home, not only for his family, but for the many travelers who came along that way. Daulton Station, as it became known, was a convenient stopover for travelers between Stockton, Millerton’ and Visalia. Building materials were scarce’ and hard to get, and it was necessary to bring the windows and sashes from the east via Cape Horn.
In 1880, a son. John Francis Daulton took over operation of the ranch and | brought up his sons, Henry Clay and Raynor, close to the soil. The boys spent more time under the stars with the sheep than under a roof in their early years. However, in 1900 John F Daulton felt that cattle held more promise than sheep and (turned the ranch into a cattle ranch securing a large herd of commercial cattle. In 1911 he retired from the cattle business, and his sons, grown now, took over the ranch under the name of the Daulton Brothers. In 1919, They bought their first purebred Herefords. The Daulton Brothers’ herd Is still operating and turning out fine purebred cattle. The Daulton Brothers in turn, following In the footsteps of their father and grandfather, married and each raised sons. Henry Clay, who dropped the Henry and became known as H. Clay having one son, Keith, and Raynor having twin sons, Turner and Hildreth.
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