J. S. Means Ranch House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm not gonna dress it up any more than the facts deserve. Built in 1900, the J. S.

Means Ranch House is one of the oldest houses in Andrews County, and the story of how it came to stand right where it stands is the kind of thing that makes you appreciate a man who reads the fine print. A fellow named S. H.

Purcell, his wife, and two relatives each filed on a section of public land out here in what was then about as lonesome a stretch of West Texas as you could find. Now, the law said you had to live on your claim. Had to.

And these four people had four separate sections. So they did what any sensible group of folks with a problem and a solution staring them in the face would do. They built one house right where the corners of all four sections came together.

One house, four claims, everybody living on their land, letter of the law satisfied. You have to admire that kind of geometry. Once they'd proved their claims, they sold out.

The buyers were Mr. and Mrs. J. S.

Means, and by 1904 the Means family owned fourteen sections. They kept going, adding much more land, and built what the marker calls a very successful working ranch. Here's the part that really sticks with you, though.

The range has contained oil fields since the nineteen twenties. Oil country. And that ranch still runs cattle.

Right on through it all, the cattle are still there. Some places just decide what they are, and they stick to it.

What the marker says

Built in 1900, this is one of the oldest houses in Andrews County. S. H. Purcell, his wife, and two relatives each filed on a section of public land, building this home where section-corners met, so that each individual could fulfill the legal requirement to live on his claim. Soon after proving their claims, they sold out to Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Means, who then (1904) owned 14 sections. Adding much more land, the Means family established a very successful working ranch. It continues to run cattle, even though the range has contained oil fields since the 1920s. (1974)