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	The Lawton Ranch was established in 1930 by Pally Lawton, when his father-in-law turned over a sizable amount of land to him so he could begin his dream of owning a ranch.
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The Lawton Ranch was established in 1930 by Pally Lawton, when his father-in-law turned over a sizable amount of land to him so he could begin his dream of owning a ranch. This was the beginning of the Lawton cattle business. Pally was born in 1905 in Lake Charles, LA. When he moved to Sulphur in 1920 to work for W.T. Burton Industries, he met his wife, Evelyn, the daughter of W.T. Burton. He married Evelyn Burton in 1925 and they had two sons, William B. Lawton and Jack Edward Lawton, Sr.

 

William Thomas Burton 1884-1974, Philanthropist “Man can make no wiser investment that the education and encouragement of our youth”

Pally’s father-in-law, William T. Burton was a prominent businessman and philanthropist. He organized and operated many businesses through his years. He was involved in the mercantile and oil businesses beginning in the early 1900’s. As he became more involved in the shell business he bought land all over Louisiana, ran a ferry across the Sabine, while dipping into the cattle, rice and sugar mill business. He bought the struggling Calcasieu National Bank during the Great Depression, restructured it, paid its debts and formed the Calcasieu Marine National Bank. As a great proponent of education he was a major benefactor of McNeese State University, the University’s Burton Business Center and Burton Coliseum carry his name today. Many cowboys have passed through the chutes of the Burton Coliseum, home to the Annual Southwest District Livestock Show & Rodeo. W.T. believed in Pally’s dream and supported many others.

 

Pally spent his life building the Lawton Ranch. In the late 1940’s, Pally turned over the daily ranch operations to his son’s, Jack and Bill Lawton. In the late 1980’s Bill turned over his part of the Ranch to Jack to carry on the operations. For the past 20 years Jack has worked to turn the Lawton Ranch into what it is today, all the while successfully owning and operating his other companies in the oil and gas and lumber business.

The Lawton Ranch has been involved in many operations through the years, from cattle and horse breeding to hay production and pasture improvements, from planting rye grass to farming rice and soy beans. The Lawton ranch also spent a number of years experimenting with improving the nutritional quality of hay and they were instrumental in this process. We have always been on a forward thinking track when it comes to the health of our livestock and techniques of performance training.

Now nearing 80 years old Jack, Sr. still has a hand in the ranch with his son Jack Lawton, Jr “the 4th generation” running the day to day operation.