|
Historic
Sites on the Ranch
|
|
|
Cottonwood
Mott Line Camp
named for the stand or motte
of trees which surrounded a natural spring here, was the site
of a line camp as early as 1878. Cowboys used the camp as a
base from which to work, herding cattle and mending fences on
the range. A log cabin, built by hands of the free-ranging Jingle
Bobs and shared with the Spur outfit, headquartered on Hall
Creek, was the site of two deadly gunfights, one over the singing
of Yankee Doodle, and the other, a love triangle between a camp
man's wife and a young cowboy. The Matador Cattle Co. purchased
range rights of the Middle Pease watershed in 1879, but a few
years later sold out to the foreign-held Matador Land and Cattle
Co., Ltd. of Scotland. The Scottish syndicate successfully operated
the ranch for 69 years, but sold out in 1951 when a rumor of
oil pushed up the price of ranch stock. The break-up of the
huge ranch allowed the families of J.C. and W. E. Burleson to
purchase a portion of the vast Mott Pasture which included Mott
Line Camp.
|
Chimney
Creek Dugout
a rare example of a sandstone-lined
dugout, which included a fireplace built with a masonic arch,
was built by James Fields in 1900 when he began "proving up" his claim of 78 acres of a survey mistake of state-owned land.
Surrounded by the gigantic Matador Ranch, the Irish stone mason
and his wife Maggie and their three small children barely eked
out a living along Chimney Creek until he foolishly chased a
rabbit into a hole. When he reached in for it, he was fatally
bitten by a rattlesnake.
|
Horse
Sketch Springs
according to local folk lore,
the pictograph of the horse in the Mott Creek title above was
deeply etched into the sandstone rock above a seep springs on
Mott Creek by a pioneer's daughter. But only the imagination
can provide the story for a saddled horse, branded with a U,
galloping away with reins a-flying.
|
Pastore
Rock Fence
recently documented by a research
team from Texas Tech University, tells of the 1870's when New
Mexican sheep herders drove flocks down from Santa Fe to both
provide winter gazing and avoid taxation. A crude rock fence
with slabs turned on end protected the flock from predators
during the night.
|
Indian
Burial Site
is located on top of a mesa providing
a sweeping vista to the rolling hills and ravines to the north
and east. Early-day cowboys plundered the grave, tossing aside
the rock cairn used to mark the spot and protect it from predators.
During different time periods, Apaches, Kiowas, and lastly Comanches,
were known to camp nearby at the springs along Mott Creek.
|
Museums
and other Places to Visit:
Motley County Historical Museum in Matador,
12 miles
Floyd County Historical Museum in Floydada,
20 miles Texas Tech University Ranching Heritage Museum
in Lubbock, 70 miles, contact by email: RanchHC@ttu.edu Burleson Memorial Roping, near Whiteflat, 28
miles Hotel
Turkey in Turkey, 40 miles Bob
Wills Day Celebration on 4th weekend of April in Turkey,
40 miles Caprock
Canyons State Park, JA Bison Herd, 54 miles
Texas
Outdoor Drama in Palo Duro Canyon, 133 miles
|
-
-
|