One of the founders of the American Hereford Association
1830-1911 | Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876-1936)
Impact & Accomplishments
One of the founders of what would become the American Hereford Association, William S. Van Natta was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana.
In 1877 he formed a partnership with Moses Fowler, a banker with 25,000 acres of grassland in Benton County, Indiana. The bull, Tregrehan, was an English Royal show winner and the foundation of their success. W. S. Van Natta was an expert marketer who initiated a series of public auctions as early as the mid 1880s.
He was the first chairman of American Hereford Association’s Herd Book Committee and the second president of the organization. His son, Frank, and nephew, Jack, also served as AHA presidents.