|
 Fletcher Ranch
N 32° 16.734 W 099° 41.466
14S E 434919 N 3571559
Texas Historical Marker at the gate into the Fletcher Ranch, 1448 Old Coleman Hwy, Abilene, TX, providing some history of this ranch and the family who established it.
Waymark Code: WM12N5P
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/19/2020
Views: 2
Marker Number: 1916
Marker Text:
In 1878 James Robert Fletcher, his wife, and son Lorenzo Thomas (1868-1939) came here from Granbury. Their caravan included a small herd of cattle and work animals. A carpenter came to construct a two-story ranch house. Fletcher filed for a patent on this land because of the nearby spring-fed creek, large trees for wood, coves for animal protection and ample grass.
The first spring Fletcher planted sorghum for his cattle, making this one of the first cultivated areas in the county. He shipped Merino sheep from California and made an unsuccessful attempt at raising the first sheep on a large scale in the area.
Lorenzo ("Lo") walked to school at Buffalo Gap and later to Buffalo Gap Presbyterian College, marking a trail with buffalo skulls which could be seen by moonlight. After his father died in 1886, Lorenzo took over the ranch operations. In 1889 he married Lula May Cummings whom he met at Buffalo Gap College. They had three children. Their daughters have developed the Lytle Cove land into a wildlife refuge for birds, deer, and wild turkey. This ranch is recognized as the oldest property in Taylor County still occupied by the original family. (1979)
|
Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|
|