In 1890, JJ Willson (1856-1938), President of the Cedar Vale National Bank, purchased grazing land high on a ridge in eastern Cowley County just south of Hooser, a Kansas prairie town along the Missouri Pacific railroad. The town flourished for 4 decades as a major agricultural hub shipping cattle and prairie hay between Denver and Kansas City. In 1951, Willson's nephews, Mike Meldrum (1888-1962)
added Hooser to the existing land they had accumulated as successful ranchers. The Meldrum brothers taught the ranching business to their nephew Jim Gilliland (1925-2010) who subsequently managed the ranch for 50 years. He was inducted into the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2006 as one of the most successful ranchers in Kansas. Today, the ranch is owned by Dr. Mark Gilliland-- making 4 generations of the family to oversee, preserve and continually improve this region of Flinthills prairie. Today, the headquarters for this ranch has been developed to remember the Hooser pioneers and overlook the magnificent southeastern view into Chautauqua County and Oklahoma -- arguably one of the most beautiful sites in Kansas. The ranch acts as a site to raise registered Texas longhorns, commercial Angus and whitetail deer.
