Born of Scotch ancestors in Vermont on August 10, 1851, J. Wright Mooar was hunting buffalo in Kansas by the age of twenty years old. At first the buffalo carcass was valuable for only the meat. The fresh meat was sent to towns where it was sold for three cents a pound. It was not long before the hides were on the market. J. Wright sent some flint hides to his older brother, John W. Mooar in New York. John found a market for them at $3.50 each. John quit his job in New York and joined J. Wright in Kansas City, Kansas, and the brothers entered into a partnership in 1872. J. Wright did most of the hunting, and John transacted the business affairs. In the next eight years J. Wright estimated they killed and marketed over 22,000 buffalo for meat and hides.

J. Wright Mooar

Deep Creek in Scurry County was a source for water for both the buffalo and the hunters who slaughtered them. The Mooar expedition came from Fort Griffin with their wagons and hunting equipment and camped on the banks of the creek. On the afternoon of October 7, 1876, he shot a rare albino buffalo near the creek, an event that has become well known.

In 1877, J. Wright and John Mooar became interested in cattle ranching. They continued in a partnership in ranching in Scurry and Mitchell counties until 1905.

J. Wright Mooar was considered a good citizen of Snyder and was respected and honored by all. He died on May 1, 1940 at the age of eighty-nine and is buried in the Snyder Cemetery.