Houston Ranch

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, every good ranch story starts somewhere unexpected, and this one starts in Massachusetts, of all places. November 15, 1848, that's when Frank R.

Putnam came into the world, a long way from Texas in just about every sense you can imagine. But the frontier has a way of callin' to people, and by 1879, Frank and his brother Addison had answered. The two of them pooled their ambitions and purchased 25,000 acres on Upper Berry Creek.

Twenty-five thousand acres. You don't do that small. By 1883, the Putnams had built a three-story frame building and a commissary where travelers could stop and purchase supplies.

Three stories. Out here. That was a statement.

The Putnam Ranch, which folks around there took to callin' the Put Ranch, stretched across Wolf Creek, Berry Creek, and Roberson Creek, and it earned itself a distinction that mattered a great deal to cattlemen of that era. It was the first in the area to have dipping vats for cattle. First.

That's the kind of detail that gets remembered. Now, 1883 was a busy year for this land. The same year that building went up, the Putnams sold their shares to the Erath Cattle Company.

Then in 1898, the Erath Cattle Company sold to the Jarvis family. Land moves, and this land kept movin'. Then came 1942, and the I.T.

Houston family purchased around 12,000 acres right out of the center of the ranch. Center cut. And that's where the story stops changin' hands, because four generations of Houstons have worked and operated this ranch ever since.

Massachusetts to Upper Berry Creek, 25,000 acres down to 12,000, half a dozen owners across the decades, and one family that finally said, this is where we stay.

What the marker says

Frank R. Putnam was born on November 15, 1848 in Massachusetts. In 1879, Frank and his brother, Addison, purchased 25,000 acres on Upper Berry Creek. In 1883, the Putnams built a three-story frame building and a commissary where travelers could purchase supplies.The Putnam (or "Put") Ranch included Wolf Creek, Berry Creek and Roberson Creek, and was the first in the area to have dipping vats for cattle. The Putnams sold their shares to the Erath Cattle Company in 1883 which was then sold to the Jarvis family in 1898. The I.T. Houston family purchased around 12,000 acres out of the center of the ranch in 1942, and four generations of Houstons have since operated this historic ranch. (2012)