Museum Exhibits

After the American Civil War several factors came together to spur a tremendous expansion in ranching activity. Existing ranches expanded their land holdings and new ranches appeared thanks to an influx of investment capital from both domestic and international investors. From the 1870s through the 1890s tens of millions of acres of land in Texas became fenced ranch land belonging to a wide range of ranching operations.

During this time, several ranches amassed enough land individually to rival the size of many of the largest cities in the world. Some of these ranches were family businesses that were passed from one generation to another. This exhibit highlights three ranches that recently passed from family ownership to new hands: Waggoner Ranch, Swenson Ranches and the Four Sixes Ranch.

Explore these legendary ranches through photographs, story and artifacts in the main gallery.

Discover the History of Transportation on the Ranch. Learn how cowboys used cattle trails to move their animals and supplies. These trails helped build the roads we drive on today.

What You’ll See:

• Cattle Trails: See how millions of cows walked along these special paths.
• The Blueprint for Texas Highways: Learn how cows’ footsteps made the ground strong for building roads.
• Cow Towns: Discover the towns that grew near cattle trails.
• Horses and Tools: See the tools cowboys used to care for their horses, which were very important for ranching.

Explore Historical Vehicles:

• Wells Fargo Stagecoach: Climb aboard a stagecoach and imagine what it was like to travel in the old days.
• 1890s Freight Wagon: See a wagon used to carry supplies across the ranchlands.
• 1923 Model T and Model TT: Discover early automobiles that changed how people traveled on and off the ranch.

Experience the Timeline of Transportation:

• Interactive Timeline: Follow the story of how transportation on ranches changed over time.
• Historical Photos and Art: See pictures and artwork that show different ways people traveled in the past.

EDUCATOR’S CORNER

For 7th Grade:

For 4th Grade:

Duplicating one of 11 bedrooms in “the big house” at the Four Sixes Ranch headquarters in Guthrie, Texas, this is a permanent NRHC exhibit with items donated by Samuel Burk Burnett’s great-granddaughter, Anne W. Marion. The Four Sixes Ranch was founded by her great-grandfather, Samuel Burk Burnett, one of the most well-known and respected ranchers in Texas. Among the Burnett pieces are the brass bed, grandfather clock, secretary, side table, fireplace and mantle, rug, books and saddle (by saddle maker R.T. Frazier). The gold-plated chandelier was originally made to function using either gas or electricity.

About the “Big House”

In 1917, Samuel Burk Burnett built what he called “the finest ranch house in West Texas” at Guthrie, spending $100,000 and hiring the esteemed Fort Worth firm Sanguiner and Staats to design it as a ranch headquarters, residence for the manager, and guest lodge. Constructed with stone from the ranch and materials hauled in by rail and wagon, the 11-bedroom home hosted notable guests like President Roosevelt and Will Rogers. The house showcased rare artifacts, including gifts from Comanche Chief Quanah Parker, which remained there for decades before Burnett’s great-granddaughter, Anne W. Marion, donated them to the National Ranching Heritage Center. Despite having his own room in the house, Burnett preferred to sleep in the back of the nearby Four Sixes Supply House, where he kept his office.

Courtesy of 6666 Ranch. Read more about Samuel Burk Burnett, the Big House and the Four Sixes Ranch HERE

Image of the Big House courtesy of Hardin Simmons University Library, date unknown

Before the discovery of the large oil deposits in places like the Permian Basin, ranchers, such as John Chisum, John T. McElroy, C.C. Slaughter and Clarence Scharbauer understood that their enterprises were economic gambles dependent on scarce rain and drought-beaten grass. Water supplies were difficult to establish or find. There were more lean years than those with a profit. Only the hardy and self-reliant ventured into the arid lands of Texas and New Mexico. The railroads brought some opportunities, but it was a discovery of oil on those hard lands that would change the fortunes of the pioneers.

Many of the early oil wells came about by drilling for water wells. The oil discovered in the Permian Basin was a by-product of water wells. Drilling then was done by hunches of prospectors before oil geology entered as a more scientific method of finding the black gold.

In cooperation with the Petroleum Museum and the Haley Library in Midland, this exhibit demonstrates how the production of oil on a ranch is incorporated into the other ranch endeavors.

This exhibit features a selection of spurs from among those donated by John Montford to the NRHC many years ago. The Montford Spur Collection covers a wide range of spurs and focuses on the most interesting or significant spurs from the collection. Spurs featured in the exhibit range from simple iron spurs to gleaming pairs of decorated spurs.