70 – Isaac Ellwood Heirs – 130,000 acres

Joseph Glidden and Isaac Ellwood brought an end to the open range in the American West. The two entrepreneurs co-owned the original patent for barbed wire and profited handsomely. Ellwood’s descendants own and lease five ranches in West Texas totaling 260,000 acres. According to family spokesman John Welch, approximately half is deeded land.

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