Turner-Davis Ranch Headquarters

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Turner-Davis Ranch Headquarters out in Edwards County. Now settle in, because this one's got deep roots and hard limestone under every inch of it. Nineteen miles west of Rocksprings, that's where you'll find it, or what's left of it, the Turner-Davis Ranch Headquarters.

And the marker calls it a testimonial. Not a monument, not a relic. A testimonial.

Like the land itself is giving sworn evidence about a way of life. I think that's about right. The Edwards Plateau doesn't give anything up easy.

Limestone bedrock running underneath thickets of oak, mesquite, and cedar, rugged terrain is the polite way to put it. Not an ideal place for farming, the marker says, which is the driest understatement you'll find on any roadside in Texas. But ranchers?

Ranchers looked at that hard, thorny country and saw exactly what they needed: range for Angora goats and a future in the mohair industry. That's what drew folks out here, and that's what kept them. The ranch was established in 1921.

J.R. 'Ruby' Davis and his wife, Helen, owned and operated it from the start until 1941. Twenty years of building something out of that plateau country. When World War II came and went, Watt W.

Turner and his wife, Elma Evans, bought the ranch from the Fred Cross Family, who had kept it running straight through the war. That's worth pausing on, somebody had to hold the thing together while the world was otherwise occupied, and the Fred Cross Family did exactly that. The Turner Family took it from there and held it until 2003.

Now the main residence at the Headquarters, a one-story structure, wood-framed, with a steeply pitched metal roof, was first built in the early 1920s. And here's the thing about that building: it was built to last. The marker says the Headquarters' buildings were built in pioneer style and improved upon by each ranching family.

That's how a place endures, not by staying frozen in time, but by each set of hands adding to what the last ones left behind. In the 1950s, the Bracero program allowed Mexican workers to work on Texas ranches, and the Turner Ranch relied heavily on that labor. When Watt Turner died, his brother Clarence Turner took over, and Clarence kept the Headquarters' buildings and miles of fencing in good condition.

Miles of fencing. You want to appreciate what that means out on an eight-section ranch in Edwards County, go try to stretch a single strand of wire across that limestone. Carl Hyde leased the ranch from the Turner estate in 1978, renewed optimism for the mohair industry, the marker says, and I love that phrase, because it tells you the industry had seen some rougher days and folks were willing to bet on it again.

Hyde built a new house on the ranch in 1979 for the foreman, Arnulfo Silva, and his family. That detail matters. It's evidence that people weren't just passing through, they were building lives out here, putting down something real.

At one time, the Turner-Davis Ranch supported six thousand head of livestock. Six thousand. On limestone and cedar and stubborn Texas hope.

The eight-section ranch operated for eighty-two years, and then in 2003 it was sold to a developer and subdivided. Eighty-two years of mohair and fencing and pioneer-built structures and families improving on what they inherited, and then that chapter closed. The marker doesn't editorialize much about that.

It just lays the testimony out and lets you sit with it. Nineteen miles west of Rocksprings, the land is still there. The limestone isn't going anywhere.

But the testimonial is what the marker came to give, and now you've heard it.

What the marker says

Located nineteen miles west of Rocksprings, the Turner-Davis Ranch Headquarters is a testimonial to the ranching way of life. Established in 1921, the ranch is located in the Edwards Plateau region. The rugged terrain is composed of limestone bedrock and thickets of oak, mesquite and cedar. Not an ideal place for farming, the area attracted ranchers specifically raising Angora goats for the mohair industry. J.R. “Ruby” Davis and his wife, Helen, owned and operated the ranch until 1941. Following WWII, Watt W. Turner and his wife, Elma Evans, bought the ranch from the Fred Cross Family who kept it operating through the war. The Turner Family and their heirs owned the ranch until 2003. The Headquarters’ main residence is a one-story structure made of wood with a steeply pitched metal roof first built in the early 1920s. The Headquarters’ buildings were built to last in pioneer style and were improved upon by each ranching family. In the 1950s, the Bracero program allowed Mexican workers to work on Texas ranches, and the Turner Ranch relied heavily on Mexican labor. After Watt Turner’s death, his brother, Clarence Turner, took over the ranch and kept the Headquarters’ buildings and miles of fencing in good condition. Carl Hyde leased the Ranch from the Turner estate in 1978 with renewed optimism for the mohair industry. He built a new house in 1979 on the Ranch for the foreman, Arnulfo Silva, and his family. The eight-section ranch operated for 82 years until it was sold to a developer in 2003 and subdivided. At one time, the Turner-Davis Ranch supported 6,000 head of livestock. (2014)