John L. Jones Ranch

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: this one's about the John L. Jones Ranch out in Kimble County. Now, sometime around 1875, two brothers by the names of Jim Ike and John L.

Jones set foot on this land and staked their claim to it. That's where the story begins. John L.

Jones was born in 1852, and he'd go on to shape this corner of Texas in ways that are still felt today; but let's not get ahead of ourselves. In those early years, John Jones was drivin' cattle. Not a few head, mind you.

Thousands of cattle, all the way up to the Kansas railheads. That's a long trail, through hard country, with a lot that could go wrong. But he made those drives, and by 1885, he'd acquired his brother Jim Ike's share of the ranch.

From there, John Jones built that operation up to twenty-five thousand acres. Twenty-five thousand. You sit with that number a moment.

He started with what the land was known for: large herds of cattle running across those rolling Kimble County hills. But John Jones was a man who could read the country, and later he added sheep and goats to the mix. Diversified, as they say.

And then there's the stone drift fence. He built one (possibly the very first in the county). Stone, laid out across the range to hold the drift of livestock.

Portions of that fence are still standin' today. Think about that. You can go out there and put your hand on something John Jones built, and it has outlasted more than a century of Texas weather.

Now, by 1896, the county had a problem. Rustlers. The kind of problem that doesn't solve itself.

John Jones's friends persuaded him to run for sheriff, and I imagine it didn't take too many conversations once a man of his reputation got pointed at the problem. He ran, he won, and he completed the job in one term. One term.

The rustling got handled. John L. Jones died in 1912, but the ranch didn't scatter to the winds the way so many do.

Descendants own much of that original ranch property to this day. Twenty-five thousand acres. A stone fence still standin'.

A sheriff who needed exactly one term. Some legacies don't need embellishing.

What the marker says

Established about 1875 by Jim Ike and John L. Jones (1852-1912). John Jones drove thousands of cattle to Kansas railheads, and by 1885 had his brother's interest in the ranch, which he increased to 25,000 acres. Originally he ran large herds of cattle, but later added sheep and goats to his ranch. He built a stone drift fence, possibly first in county; portions of this still stand. He was persuaded by friends to run for sheriff in 1896, to help rid the county of rustlers; he completed the job in one term. Descendants own much of this original ranch property today. (1973)