Jack Gillis proudly stands before a certificate that hangs in his office, proclaiming
the Gillis Ranch as an over century old ranch, founded in 1873, by his great-grandfather,
H.A. Gillis, when Hopkins County was in its infancy.


"Gentleman Jack" Stands
Guard Over Historic Hopkins
County Family Ranch

by: Bobby McDonald

Drouth, floods, fire, hail, wind, and snow........Jack Gillis has about seen it all, as he has stood guard of one of the oldest and largest ranches in Hopkins County. The Gillis Family Ranch, composed of 12 different divisions, is likely the largest family ranch in Hopkins County and was founded by Jack's great-grandfather, back in 1873. The headquarters of the ranch, near Cumby, was begun in 1873, when Hopkins County was in her infancy and Cumby was still known as Black Jack Grove.

Family patriarch and Jack's great-grandfather, H.A. Gillis, came to Hopkins County in the 1870's,
from Tennessee, and began a ranching legacy that continues in the Pleasant Grove area of the county.

The Pleasant Grove Cemetery and the Plunkett School  properties are surrounded by the Gillis Ranch land and were donated by O.D. and Ollie Gillis, Jack's grandparents, when the need for a school in the area was established in 1903. That was back before Ben K. Green began his "Wild Horse Tales" and "Wild Cow Tales" and the land was quite open and unsettled. The site of the Plunkett School, next to the cemetery, bears a Texas State Historical Marker and once served as a Cumberland Presbyterian Church site and meeting house.

This Texas State Historical Marker marks the spot where Jack began his education at
Plunkett School, on land that was donated by his grandparents, O.D. and Ollie Gillis. The
school stood on land next to the Gillis Ranch, and north of Interstate-30.

"We still continue to be plagued by what seems like new problems each year," states Jack Gillis, in a quiet and unassuming manner. "No matter how many years you ranch on a property, there are always challenges when you have livestock and try to keep them fed and productive!"

Jack and his brother, Bobby, are owners of the Gillis Ranch, that has been passed down through the family and continues to be operated by the brothers.

O.D. Gillis, Jack's grandfather, was born on the Gillis Ranch, two years after his father, H.A. Gillis,
founded the ranch and settled in Hopkins County, in 1873.

 

"The last couple of years have been extremely difficult in trying to find hay to feed our cattle, as the prairie land that we own has been hit hard by drouth," explains Jack, as he looks to the west at a thundercloud moving toward the ranch. "I hope that cloud brings us some much needed rain. Our pastures are already extremely dry for this time of year, a second year in a row!"

Jack Gillis, right, sits on the porch of the ranch house, and keeps a keen eye on a thunderhead that was
building in the west, as he discusses the cattle operation with his ranch foreman, Greg Keim, left.

Jack and Ranch Foreman, Greg Keim, explain that they feed the cattle 40% cottonseed cake and raise all of the hay that they can, but are forced to purchase forage to supplement the ranch's production. "In years like last year and the one that is shaping-up now, we purchase tons of hay," states Keim. "As the forage on the ranch must be utilized for grazing the large herd of high-grade Santa Gertrudis cattle."

 

A group of quality two-year old heifers, that will be bred in the autumn, to calve as three-year olds,
and replace older cows in the Gillis herd.


Yearling heifers such as these are what the Gillis Ranch depends on for replacement of their older
cows, and exhibit the growth and frame to make profitable brood cows.

 

When asked about the beautiful, blood-red Santa Gertrudis cattle, Jack explains, "We had a commercial herd of Hereford cows, that had populated the ranch for all of my lifetime. Then, in  the 1970's, I decided we needed some other breed that was more productive and would excel on the rough land that comprises the ranch. We needed a cow that could be a good mother, milk heavy, and produce a thrifty calf at weaning time. I had seen the results of the Santa Gertrudis cow, on the King Ranch and went about seeking some quality bulls to mate to the Hereford cows, already on the ranch. I found the first registered Santa Gertrudis Bulls at Bar H Ranch."

 

Jack Gillis stands by a painting, hung in his office, of the commercial Hereford herd on the Gillis Ranch,
that formed the original cattle, that he began "grading-up" with registered Santa Gertrudis Bulls.


Quality "bull power" has always been important on the Gillis Ranch, as Jack has striven to purchase
the best possible bulls he could find, to make certain that improvement is reached with each new generation.

Gillis has continued to purchase the best Santa Gertrudis bulls he could find and has saved each successive generation of females, as they proved to be better than their dams. The Santa Gertrudis Breeders International, located in Kingville, Texas, offered a Grading-Up Program, so that all of the Gillis Ranch cattle are now considered purebred and eligible for registration. "We don't bother with registering the females that we keep on the ranch," states Jack. "But, when we sell some heifers and the buyer wants them registered, we call a classifier from the breed registry and they come out and inspect the cattle and issue papers on them. They're purebred and can be sold with that distinction."

 

 

The continued use of quality bulls has developed an outstanding herd of Santa Gertrudis females on
the Gillis Ranch, that wean heavy calves and thrive on the prairie pastures found on the ranch, as is evidenced
by this group of nice pairs.


The Gillis Ranch sign on Interstate-30 West declares the ranch's beginnings in 1873 and the quality
Santa Gertrudis Cattle that are a trademark of the family owned business.

"We keep most of the females to replace the cow herd on the ranch, and tend to cull very closely, but occasionally sell some of those heifers that we don't need as replacements," explains Keim, a 20 plus year employee of the ranch. "We market the bull calves through the local livestock auctions and strive to market a 600 plus pound calf, at weaning."

These quality heifers will be used as replacements on the Gillis Ranch, as they are bred to the best
bulls the ranch can find to add to their powerful herd bull battery.


Greg Keim, a twenty plus year employee of Gillis Ranch, serves as
ranch foreman, and pauses while working some of the top quality heifers
that will be retained as herd replacements.

The Gillis Ranch has purchased registered Santa Gertrudis Bulls from Welders Ranch at Victoria, Texas, J.B. Hunt Ranches, Grey Rock Ranch of Selma, Alabama, and Winrock Farms in Morrilton, Arkansas, to name a few. "We try to get the best bulls we can find, to make certain that we improve each generation," acknowledges Keim, who has a humorous plaque posted in his office stating, "Cows may come and cows may go, but the Bull in this place goes on forever!"

"The sign is a joke," states Keim. "But, the influence of a good bull can be felt for several generations, when you save all of your heifers back for replacement and depend on the genetics to continue producing quality offspring in the herd!"

 

"The Santa Gertrudis cow works extremely well for us," states Jack. "She'll stay in good flesh on the prairie grass pastures, produce a medium-sized calf at birth and take care of it, when it is born. Then, she'll wean a large calf at weaning time, that can go on to market and perform well in the feedlots of West Texas."

 

These large, framey three-year olds, will be calving for the first time beginning in September,
when they will enter the cow herd on the Gillis Ranch.

"We put the bulls in the pasture the week of Thanksgiving, each year," instructs Jack. "And, remove them in the spring. We like an autumn calving herd, and the calves are already on the ground before the cold winter arrives. That way, we can carry the cow through the summer months as a dry cow and supplement her nutrition, in the winter, when we're going to be feeding her anyway!"

Besides the ranching interests in Hopkins County, Jack and his brother, Bobby, own the A.K. Gillis and Son Construction Company, with headquarters in Sulphur Springs, that was begun by their father, A.K. Gillis, and operates road construction and maintenance of state highways all across Northeast Texas. Bobby handles more of the Construction Company duties, while Jack lends his expertise to the ranching interests of the family businesses.

A. K. Gillis, Jack and Bobby's father, began the construction company and continued the ranching
heritage, as the third generation of Gillises to make Hopkins County their home.

The next generation of the Gillis Family continues to keep the almost 125 year old family ranch and a rich heritage in their minds, as Jack has two daughters, Judy Gillis Lynch and Janet Gillis Jordan, and Bobby has a son, Johnny Gillis, who know the deep roots that their great-great grandfather planted on the Northwestern Hopkins County prairie.

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