Swenson Land and Cattle Company.

In the 1880s S. M. Swenson leased his holdings to his sons, Eric Pierson Swenson and Swen Albin Swenson, who operated them under the name of Swenson Brothers Cattle Company. The SMS brand, consisting of an extended M sandwiched between two reversed S's, was registered by the Swensons in the spring of 1882. In 1899 the Swensons enticed the Texas Central Railroad to build through their land and laid out the town of Stamford, which became the nucleus of their West Texas interests. In 1902 the brothers hired Frank S. Hastings as manager of their far-flung ranches. Under Hastings' direction the SMS was among the first to engage in the "mail order" calf business. In 1926 the Swensons were running 28,000 cattle on 390,000 acres and the business was reorganized as the Swenson Land and Cattle Company.