Sanzenbacher Ranch Headquarters

Duane's take

The way I hear it, this one comes straight off the official marker for the Sanzenbacher Ranch Headquarters out in Clay County. Let me tell it to you right. Now, 1873 is when this story gets its footing.

A German immigrant by the name of Johann Sanzenbacher, who folks called John, born in 1797, made a decision that would echo a long, long way into the future. He bought land in south Clay County, not just anywhere, but near the Fort Richardson to Fort Sill military road and right alongside the Little Wichita River. Good water, a known road, and ground that could be worked.

That's what John Sanzenbacher staked his name to. He didn't live to see all of it unfold. John Sanzenbacher passed in 1879.

But here is the thing that makes this ranch something worth pulling over for. The Sanzenbacher descendants have continuously operated that ranch from 1873 right on through. Continuously.

Not sold off, not abandoned, not carved up and scattered. The same family, the same land. Along the way, the ranch wore a few different brands.

The first was the Circle J, registered in 1875. Then came the Cross Turkey Track in 1899, and that brand is still in use today. Let that settle in for a moment.

A brand burned onto cattle in 1899 is still going on that ranch right now. In 1890, they built the home that still stands at the headquarters. Dressed stone, arched windows, two stories tall in the I-plan style, two rooms on either side of a center passage.

Clean, solid, built to last. And it did last, long enough that by 1910, the family had added a two-story rear extension and put a columned portico across the front facade. One man, one purchase, one piece of south Clay County ground in 1873.

And more than a century later, the Cross Turkey Track brand is still moving cattle across the same land John Sanzenbacher once called his. Some ranches just decide they aren't going anywhere.

What the marker says

The Sanzenbacher Ranch began in 1873 when German immigrant Johann (John) Sanzenbacher (1797-1879) bought land in south Clay County near the Fort Richardson- Fort Still military road and the Little Wichita River. Sanzenbacher descendants have continuously operated the ranch since that time. The ranch has operated under several brands, including the original Circle J (1875) and the Cross Turkey Track (1899), which is still in use today. This home was constructed in 1890; the original design was a two-story I-plan house built of dressed stone with arched windows, with two rooms on either side of a center passage. Additions including a two-story rear extension and the front facade columned portico were added by 1910. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2009