For more than 140 years, the Hash Knife brand has intrigued Western history lovers. From its rough-and-ready-sounding name to its travels throughout Texas, Montana, and Arizona, the Hash Knife sports a romance like few others in the cattle industry. Several outfits have been proud to call the brand their own, and the stories behind the men who worked for these companies are the epitome of Western lore and truth combined. Beginning in 1884, the Hash Knife—owned by the Aztec Land and Cattle Company—came to Arizona. The brand left a lasting impression on places like Holbrook, Joseph City, Winslow, and the famed OW Ranch while shaping Northern Arizona. From its historic roots to the famed Hash Knife Pony Express Ride that takes place each January, the Hash Knife has left its mark as a beloved mainstay of the American West.
Jan MacKell Collins is an established author whose great-grandfather George Hennessey and great-great-grandfather Frank Wallace were two of the last true Hash Knife cowboys. Collins introduces an aspect to Hash Knife history as told through images from local museums and beyond, as well as a number of family photographs that have never been published before now.