The son of Great Western James Hitch, Henry managed a family ranch in Liberal, Kansas at age 18, overseeing 2,500 cattle. His father’s death in 1921 brought him ownership of 20,000 acres of ranchland in Oklahoma.
By drilling irrigation wells and ditches, he was able to put 9,000 acres under cultivation for grain and feed. He also constructed some of the first modern feedlots in the area, one with a capacity for 60,000 head of cattle.
Part of his businesses became Master Commodities, Inc., which had a seat on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to trade in live cattle futures. A well-known farmer-rancher-businessman, Hitch was active in numerous business, political, civic and church affairs. He was a member of the Oklahoma Cattleman’s Association, the Texas and Southwestern Cattleman’s Association and the American National Cattlemen’s Assn.; served as president of the Guymon Production Credit Association; was a trustee of Oklahoma City University and the IOA Boys Ranch at Perkins.
He was also an Oklahoma Ambassador, appointed by former Gov. Henry Bellmon; was a member of the original board of directors of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and is listed in the History of Oklahoma. As one of Oklahoma’s most prominent farmer-ranchers, he was among 29 American agriculturists selected to visit Russia in 1956.