Animal
Randall Lineback
Bos taurus (Randall Lineback line)
Also known as: Randall cattle
A Critical-status heritage cattle breed descended from a single Sunderland, Vermont farm — the Randall family farm — where the breed was maintained as a closed herd from the early 19th century through the 1980s. The breed nearly went extinct when the founding herd of ~80 head was scheduled for slaughter in 1985; rescued by Cynthia Creech, who relocated the entire herd to Tennessee and began the rebuilding effort that the modern Randall Lineback Cattle Association continues. Distinctive coat: black or sometimes red with a clearly-defined white dorsal stripe (the lineback) running along the spine, white on belly, white-on-face. Triple-purpose breed (dairy, beef, draft); medium-sized; well-adapted to New England terrain. Approximately 500 breeding cows worldwide as of 2026.
Cultural
The Randall family of Sunderland, Vermont maintained a closed cattle herd from the early 19th century through 1985 — over 150 years of family-line breeding without outside genetic input. The herd’s founding stock is undocumented but likely descended from local New England cattle of mixed Devon, Dutch, and English origin. Samuel Randall and successive Randall family members continued the closed-herd tradition through three generations.
In 1985, after the death of Everett Randall, the family decided to disperse the herd. Approximately 80 head were scheduled for slaughter at the Vermont auction. Cynthia Creech, a Tennessee farmer with rare-breed conservation experience, recognized the genetic value of the closed-herd Randall cattle and purchased the entire surviving herd, relocating them to Tennessee where the rebuilding effort began. The rescue was dramatic — the literal last 80 individuals of a 150-year closed herd, saved within days of slaughter.
The Randall Lineback Cattle Association (founded 1990) maintains the modern breed registry; breeding population today is approximately 500 breeding cows worldwide, concentrated in the U.S. Northeast and Tennessee. [[livestock-conservancy|The Livestock Conservancy]] classifies the breed as Critical.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Shares approach with: [[livestock-conservancy]] · [[milking-devon]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
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