Eugene Price

Gene Price (full name Eugene Hubbert Price) was born on November 19, 1868, in Grayson County, Texas to Theodore Martin Price (1836 – 1927) and Martha Ann Virginia Drisella Hubbert Price (1842 – 1905). Theodore Martin Price was a farmer/rancher/merchant and also a circuit riding Methodist preacher. From his early years, Gene was keenly interested in ranching, beginning in the era of the open range.

As a young man, he worked on several ranches in the southwest. He named the Quinn Brothers, the Hat Ranch, Pemberton Brothers and the E Ranch in his comments. In 1889, he married the former Lily Kirby Harris Cook in Eolian, Texas. Around 1901, the family homesteaded in New Mexico, at the corner where Yoakum, Gaines, Eddy, and Chaves counties met – roughly 15 miles east of the future site of Lovington.

Mr. Price built up one of the area’s earliest high-quality registered Hereford herds. For a while, he leased the Highlonesome Ranch, and the family resided in its old headquarters house. As their children reached school age, the family bought a home in Lovington while still working the ranch. Gene served on the Lovington School Board and participated actively in community matters; he generously donated land for a second, larger school building, which served as the town’s only school for many years. He was a long time member of the Methodist Church in Lovington.

In his later years, he authored “Open Range Ranching on the South Plains in the 1890’s,” a memoir of his early experiences that has become a valuable resource for those interested in the region’s history. Long out of print, the original publication included a reproduction of Gene’s informative hand drawn map of Lea County and the surrounding area.

Mr. Price passed away on September 5, 1952. Mrs. Price died on October 16. 1962. Both are buried in Lovington Cemetery. In 1988, he was posthumously honored with a Bronze Cowboy award for his numerous contributions to the early traditions and settlement of Lea County.