Sam’s company, Chas. S. Middleton and Son, was established by Sam’s grandfather, Charles Middleton, in 1920. Charles was born in Louisiana and came to Lubbock on horseback in approximately 1895. As a young man he started leasing area ranches and was active in the cattle and sheep business. As the small community of Lubbock was being organized, he was appointed first Chief of Police. He was very active as a cattle commission broker, buying and selling cattle on a commission basis for customers throughout Texas and north through the Corn Belt States. He also bought thousands of calves out of Old Mexico every fall and shipped them to the United States. This successful cattle business brought him in contact with ranchers throughout the country. In selling cattle, he was also exposed to ranchers who were interested in both buying and selling ranch property. The cattle business complemented ranch sales, and he became very active in the sale of ranches over a large scope of country.
His son, L.F. “Sam” Middleton joined Charles in the business, and they worked side by side until Charles retired in about 1950. L.F. was very successful and expanded the company by adding a farm and ranch loan business. Lenders often told L.F. that his loan brokerage business had the largest volume in the Southwest United States, and he regularly maintained over 600 farm and ranch loans on the books. Lending money on farms and ranches was also a good “leader” for ranch sales, as this helped introduce L.F. to a large number of potential buyers and sellers.
L.F.’s son, Sam, joined his father in the business in 1971. Sam and L.F. worked together for approximately 20 years until Sam’s father retired from the business. Sam has always said he was very fortunate to inherit many good contacts from his father, and Sam learned much about the business by traveling with his father for 20 years. Sam became interested in the appraisal business, and ranch appraisals have proven to be a great addition to the company business. Ranch appraisals often times lead to sales, and the appraisal business also keeps Sam well informed regarding land values over a large area. Sam has testified many times in court regarding land values and has also served as a court appointed receiver in selling ranches in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. Sam is a ranch broker in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas, and also holds State Appraisal Certifications in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, which mean Sam is qualified to appraise federally related transactions. Sam also holds the ARA (Accredited Rural Appraiser) designation through the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Sam and his wife, Patricia, have two grown sons, Charlie and Jed. Charlie has worked in the company for approximately 15 years and is a licensed broker in Texas and New Mexico. He is very interested in the recreational aspect of ranching and is an avid hunter. Charlie is married and has two young sons. Jed runs Sam’s ranch at Dickens, Texas and partners with Sam on three leased ranches, which Jed also manages. Jed also is a member of the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He is a professional team roper and also enjoys buying, selling and training roping horses.
Chas. S. Middleton and Son is an established, successful farm and ranch real estate and appraisal company. Sam generally handles the sale of the larger ranch transactions and Charlie enjoys working on the recreational/hunting ranches. Charlie also is very accomplished in producing our brochures and ranch maps, which we print in house. Sam is fortunate to have two other salesmen/appraisers on staff in the office. Since Sam focuses more on ranch sales, Chad Dugger handles most of our ranch appraisal work, which is substantial, and Rusty Lawson handles all of the farm appraisals and farm sales. Everyone in the company focuses on their own specialty, so together, we make a great team.
Over the years, Sam has learned that repeat business is the best compliment you can have. We are fortunate to have many customers, ranchers, trust departments, accounting firms, tax attorneys, and others who we have worked with time and time again over the years. Many of the ranches we sell today, were first sold by Sam’s father or grandfather. These repeat sales and the solid customer base are the cornerstone of this nearly 100 year old real estate/appraisal company.