Goodnight: Charles Goodnight Historical Center

Two storey home with covered porch

Charles Goodnight home

Man standing on top of a large pile of bones

Bison skulls await industrial processing at Michigan Carbon Works, 1892. (Detroit Public Library)

Portrait of MaryAnn Goodnight

Mary Ann Goodnight (Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum)

Herd of bison on a grassy plain

Goodnight’s buffalo herd grazing on his ranch (UTSA Special Collections Library)

Herd of bison in front of a building

Bison at the Goodnight ranch, 1928 (Haslet Public Library)

Statue in a field of a woman and a juvenile bison

Mary Ann and buffalo calf statue at the Charles Goodnight Historical Center

Charles and MaryAnn Goodnight seated on a bench looking at a book

Charles and Molly Goodnight (Charles Goodnight Historical Center)

Mary Ann Dyer’s upbringing at Fort Belknap, west of present-day Graham, Texas, introduced her to the frontier existence she would later share while ranching with her husband, Charles Goodnight. During their life on the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon Molly, as she was called, worked to protect young orphaned buffalo. Learn more about her quest to save the bison here.

 

In 1887 the Goodnights moved to northeast Armstrong County, where today their restored home serves as the centerpiece of the Charles Goodnight Historical Center in Goodnight. The center chronicles the story of Charles Goodnight and his wife, Mary Ann, whose work to rescue the Southern Plains buffalo helped save the species from extinction. 


Charles Goodnight Historical Center

  • Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (March-October), Thursday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (November – February)
  • Admission: Adults: $10, Ages 12 and under: $5
  • 4989 County Rd. 25, Goodnight, TX
  • 806-944-5591 or toll free 855-880-6499
  • Visit Website
  • National Register of Historic Places
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