Molly Goodnight

{{Infobox horse person | name = Molly Goodnight | image = [[File:Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight.png|thumb|Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Photo Taken by D.H. Swartz and Brothers in Fort Worth, TX, late 19th century. | native_name = | native_name_lang = | occupation = Rancher | discipline = | birth_date = (1839-09-12)September 12, 1839 | birth_place = Madison County, Tennessee, US | death_date = April 11, 1926(1926-04-11) (aged 86) | death_place = Armstrong County, Texas, US | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | major_wins = | lifetime_achievements = | honors = | memorials = | horses = | website = | module = }}

Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight (September 12, 1839 – April 11, 1926) was an American cattlewoman and rancher married to prominent Texas rancher and cattleman Charles Goodnight. She was a 1991 inductee of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. Mary Ann is credited for saving the Southern Plains Bison from extinction.

Life

Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight was born Mary Ann Dyer on September 12, 1839, in Madison County, Tennessee. In 1854, when she was 14, Goodnight's parents brought her to Belknap, Texas. Not soon after her parents died, then she had to care for her five brothers. Around 1864, she met Charles Goodnight at Fort Belknap. In the 1860s, she taught in Weatherford, Texas. Goodnight married Charles in Hickman, Kentucky, on July 26, 1870. The Goodnight's went straight from Hickman, KY to Pueblo, CO to establish The Rock Canon Ranch. Upon their arrival in Pueblo, Mary Ann witnessed two cattle rustlers hung from a telephone pole by the command of her new husband, Charles. This upset Mary Ann but she persisted and eventually grew fond of her new found home by playing an active role in the community.

Ranching

They had a seven-year try at ranching in Pueblo, CO, but soon moved back to Texas after the financial crisis of 1873. Mary Ann was sent to live with relatives in California while Charles plotted his next moves. In 1876, Charles established a partnership with wealthy businessman John George Adair. Charles' partnership enabled him to co-found the famous JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle in 1877.

Mary Ann Goodnight took on several roles while at the JA Ranch. She acted as the ranch manager when Charles was away on business, nursed cowboys back to health with folk medicine, acted as a spiritual advisor for those in troubled times, and patched the cowboys outfits. Beyond her regular chores, Mary Ann took it upon herself to rescue bison calves left behind by buffalo hunters, soon establishing the Goodnight Bison Herd. The Goodnight Bison Herd and its descendants are the last vestige of Southern Plains Bison. They can be found at Caprock Canyon State Park and are known as the Texas State Bison Herd. In 1887, Charles and Mary Ann moved to Armstrong County, Texas, where she would spend the next 38 years of her life. Mary Ann Goodnight assisted in establishing Goodnight College in 1898. Additionally, Mary Ann advocated for temperance and was against alcohol consumption.

Back from the Brink, By Veryl Goodnight

Death and legacy

In Mary Ann's final years, she suffered from dementia and would often be found wandering the property. Shortly before she passed away, Mary Ann advocated for Palo Duro Canyon to become a National Park. While this did not happen, the Northern section of the canyon became Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Mary Ann Goodnight died at the Goodnight Ranch on April 11, 1926, in Goodnight, TX. In 1888, the Goodnights built the Goodnight Ranch House in Goodnight, Texas. The house is located in Armstrong County, Texas, at US 287 and 5000 Block County Road 25. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. It came to house the Charles and Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight Ranch House, which was a museum. In the 1860s Charles and Oliver Loving created the Goodnight-Loving Trail, which was a cattle drive in the late 1860s for the movement of large herds of Texas Longhorns from Texas to Wyoming. It was during this time that Mary Ann was in a courtship with Charles.