General Thomas D. Campbell

About Us

Campbell Corporation, formerly Campbell Farming, is the parent company of San Pedro Creek Land Company. Campbell Corporation has a rich and deep-rooted history in New Mexico and elsewhere in the western United States. The people of Campbell Corporation have been conscientious stewards of their land for more than 70 years, and have played an instrumental role in shaping New Mexico.

Originally, Campbell Corporation was Montana-based founded in 1922 by General Thomas D. Campbell. Campbell is credited with inventing mechanized farming, which allowed him to quickly become the largest wheat producer in the world. In 1936 Campbell expanded its farming and ranching operations with additional land acquired in New Mexico, and quickly became the largest landowner in the southwestern state.

In the 1960's, Thomas D. Campbell's daughter, Ann Campbell Knapp, offered to donate over 200,000 acres of Campbell Farming land located in the Chihuahuan desert near Socorro, with the idea that it become a national wildlife refuge. On December 28, 1973, this land became the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest of its kind in New Mexico. It is located just 65 miles south of Albuquerque, and provides a safe haven to a wide variety of plant and animal species, including many on the "threatened" and "endangered" species lists. This Campbell family donation is the largest ever received from a private land holding in United States history. Thomas Campbell's progressive visions are still exemplified by his great grandson, Robert Gately, current president of Campbell Farming Corporation, who continues to donate land to various organizations and community causes.

One of the more notable parcels purchased by Campbell Corporation in the 1930's is a spectacular 31,000-acre property in the East Mountain area just south of Golden, New Mexico. Still known as "Campbell Ranch," this parcel is surrounded by green mountain landscape and wide-open vistas, includes many natural springs, and was viewed by Campbell as being his future "Patria," or hometown. Visitors to the tram in Albuquerque, the world's longest, can ride from the base to the peak of the Sandia Mountains and look east over this land of magnificent beauty.

Campbell Corporation still owns this vast, resort-like property, within which lies San Pedro Creek Estates, begun in 1993. A truly unique community, this development was voted "Residential Project of the Year" in 1996. San Pedro Creek Estates is perhaps the only place in the world that has reasonably-priced ten-acre home sites, packaged in a first-class community with clean air and water, which are within a thirty-minute drive of an international airport. With a highly desirable mild climate, voted "Best weather with four seasons," San Pedro Creek Estates is the crown jewel of the region.

To explore more about Campbell Corporation's history and current activities, visit its web site: www.campbellcorporation.com