{{Short description|American rancher (1839–1926)}}

{{Infobox horse person | name = Mary Ann Goodnight | image = File:Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight.png | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | occupation = Rancher, Conservationist and Educator | discipline = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1839|9|12}} | birth_place = Madison County, Tennessee, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1926|4|11|1839|9|12}} | death_place = Armstrong County, Texas, US | resting_place_coordinates =35.04674630922304, -101.174883844896 | major_wins = | lifetime_achievements = | honors = | memorials = | horses = | website = | module = }}

'''Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight''' (September 12, 1839 &ndash; April 11, 1926) was an American cattlewoman, conservationist, and educator. She was a 1991 inductee of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cowgirl.net/portfolios/mary-ann-molly-goodnight/|title=Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight|website=Cowgirl Hall of Fame & Museum|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref> Goodnight is credited with 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.<ref name="TSHA">{{cite web |last1=Roach |first1=Joyce Gibson |title=Goodnight, Mary Ann Dyer (Molly) |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fgo35 |website=Texas State Historical Association |access-date=October 8, 2019 |date=June 15, 2010}}</ref> Mary Ann's father, Joel Henry Dyer, fought in the Battle of New Orleans and was the attorney general of West Tennessee. Mary Ann's mother, Susan Lynch Miller, was the granddaughter of William Blount, the first territorial governor of Tennessee. Mary Ann did not have a formal education, as there were no formal schools while growing up in Tennessee. However, Mary Ann was taught by her parents from a young age and knew how to read and write.

In 1854, when she was 14, Mary Ann's parents brought her to Belknap, Texas. Not soon after her parents died, then she had to care for her three youngest brothers. Around 1864, she met Charles Goodnight at Fort Belknap. In the 1860s, she taught in Weatherford, Texas. While Mary Ann taught, her soon to be husband, Charles, and his cattle partner Oliver Loving created the<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=J. P. |date=June 15, 2010 |title=Goodnight College |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/kbg14 |access-date=October 8, 2019 |website=Texas State Historical Association}}</ref> Goodnight-Loving Trail, which was a cattle drive in the late 1860s for the movement of large herds of Texas Longhorns from Texas to Southern Wyoming.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Richardson |first1=T. C. |date=15 June 2010 |title=Goodnight-Loving Trail |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ayg02 |access-date=October 8, 2019 |website=Texas State Historical Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Goodnight-Loving Trail – Legends of America |url=https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-goodnight-lovingtrail/ |access-date=October 8, 2019 |website=Legends of America}}</ref> Mary Ann married Charles Goodnight in Hickman, Kentucky at N.P. Harness' home on July 26, 1870.<ref name="TSHA" /> The preacher that officiated the marriage was Rev. N.N. Cowgill of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The Goodnights went straight from Hickman, KY, to Pueblo, CO to live at the recently established Rock Canon Ranch. Upon their arrival in Pueblo, Mary Ann witnessed two cattle rustlers hung from a telegraph 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. A devout Methodist, Mary Ann established the first Southern Methodist Church in Pueblo.

==Ranching== The Goodnights 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.<ref name="TSHA" /> Charles' partnership enabled him to co-found the famous JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas Panhandle in 1876.<ref name="TexasHistory">{{cite web |title=Mary Ann (Molly) Dyer Goodnight |url=https://www.womenintexashistory.org/biographies/mary-ann-dyer-goodnight/ |website=Women in Texas History |access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref>

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 convinced her husband Charles to bring her 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 Canyons State Park and are known as the Texas State Bison Herd. In 1887, Mary Ann and Charles moved to Armstrong County, Texas. Mary Ann would spend the next 38 years of her life living in the community aptly named for her husband, Goodnight, TX.<ref name="TSHA" />

==Death and legacy== In 1888, the Goodnights built the Goodnight Ranch House in Goodnight, Texas. Mary Ann Goodnight assisted in establishing Goodnight College in 1898. Charles and Mary Ann funded $3 million which was used to construct all of the buildings on campus. Additionally, Mary Ann advocated for temperance and was against alcohol consumption.<ref name="TSHA" />

In Mary Ann's final years, she suffered from dementia and would often be found wandering the property. Shortly before she died, 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, Texas.

Charles and Mary Ann's 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. Today, their home is known as Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site and can be toured for a minimal fee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Goodnight Historical Center |url=https://texasplainstrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/charles-goodnight-historical-center |access-date=October 8, 2019 |website=Plains Trail Region}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodnight, Mary Ann}} Category:1839 births Category:1926 deaths Category:American cattlewomen Category:American cattlemen Category:American pioneers Category:Ranchers from Texas Category:People from Pueblo, Colorado Category:Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Category:National Register of Historic Places in Randall County, Texas Category:People from Armstrong County, Texas Category:Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductees Category:20th-century American women farmers Category:20th-century American farmers Category:19th-century American women farmers Category:19th-century American farmers Category:Educators from Colorado Category:Educators from Texas