Est. 1898 · Weatherford, Texas
History & Heritage
The Lazy S has carried the Slaughter name for over 125 years. Here's how a West Texas cattle brand became a Weatherford hacienda.
THE RANCHING YEARS
The Cattle King of Texas
A Boy Who Could Read a River
Christopher Columbus Slaughter was born in Sabine County, Texas. By twelve he was driving cattle with his father across the Trinity River — he had a knack for getting a herd across swollen water, which kept him in steady work with drovers headed to Shreveport.
West to Palo Pinto County
At seventeen, a timber-and-flour trading trip left him $520 richer — enough to buy his uncle's share of the family herd. He moved the operation west, close enough to Fort Belknap to supply the fort and the reservations nearby, and drove 1,500 cattle out to the new range. In 1859 he rode in the expedition that recovered Cynthia Ann Parker from a Comanche camp.
Rebuilding From Nothing
The years after the Civil War nearly broke him — an accidental gunshot wound sidelined him for a year and gutted the cattle business. He rebuilt it on two good deals: 300 steers sold to a Jefferson packery for $35 a head in gold, then herds driven to Kansas City fetching up to $42 a head. By 1873 he'd founded C.C. Slaughter and Company and moved his family to Dallas.
Building the Long S
Slaughter built the Long S Ranch on the headwaters of the Colorado River and set about upgrading his herds — a Chicago World's Fair grand champion Hereford bull in 1897, then the record-setting $5,000 bull Sir Bredwell in 1899.
The Lazy S Is Born
Slaughter bought 246,699 acres in Cochran and Hockley counties, leased more alongside it, and established the Lazy S Ranch — stocked with his prized Herefords and handed to his eldest son to run.
The Cattle King of Texas
By 1906, Slaughter owned over a million acres and 40,000 head of cattle — one of the largest individual landholders in the country, and the name everyone in West Texas ranching knew.
BEYOND THE RANCH
Banker, Baptist, Builder
Ranching wasn't the only thing Slaughter built. In 1873 he helped found City Bank in Dallas, which became City National Bank in 1881 — he served as its vice president. In 1884 he helped start American National Bank and stayed on as VP until he died in 1919.
He was a devout Baptist and gave two-thirds of the cost to build First Baptist Church in Dallas. He also helped fund the Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium, which is Baylor Hospital today.
EIGHT DAYS BY COACH
On the Road
One of Slaughter's ranch managers described his regular circuit between properties: he'd take the train from Dallas to Big Spring, then switch to a converted army ambulance he'd turned into a traveling coach — mules at first, later a matched team of horses.
Dallas → Big Spring → Long S → Tahoka Lake → Lazy S → Portales, NM → Dallas
The full loop took about eight days.
THE NEW ERA
HOW THE HACIENDA CAME TO BE
The land stayed in the Slaughter family. Mamie Slaughter Hudson, a direct descendant of C.C. Slaughter, grew up on this property in Weatherford — and in 2008, she and her husband Chance had their own wedding here. Guests still talk about the oak trees and the view.
A few years ago, at seventy, Mamie's father decided to head to Oklahoma to chase his own ranching dream, and he gifted the Weatherford property to Mamie and Chance. When she asked him how to turn it into something lasting for their kids and grandkids, his answer stuck with her.
"Don't wait too late like I did. Do it now."
Mamie had always loved Modern Mexican and Spanish design, and she wanted a builder who could deliver something beautiful that would also last and be kind to the land. Ferrier Custom Homes — pioneers in green building — turned out to be the right partner. A wedding-industry podcast led her to venue consultant Lindsay Lucas, and having an industry expert on the team is what took the dream from idea to reality.
More than a century of ranching history, now the backdrop for new memories.
MI CASA ES SU CASA
Come See the History for Yourself
The best way to hear the rest of the story (cattle ranch included) is standing on the land where it happened.