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.

Taylor Sheridan’s 1883 production helps tell the very real story of early settlers moving west to make a better life while struggling to conquer and endure harsh environments and unforgiving weather. These pioneer struggles turned the Western frontier into the dynamic region it is today, and portraying these struggles gives us a more accurate idea of what it took to cross the frontier, settle and survive.

This exciting exhibit features props, scripts, and other items used in the production of the hit series 1883.  The series provides the origin story for the popular Yellowstone series.

You will have an opportunity to see costumes and props used by actors and actresses in the series including Tim McGraw (James Dutton), Faith Hill (Margaret Dutton), Sam Elliott (Shea Brennan), LaMonica Garrett (Thomas), Isabel May (Elsa Dutton), and Audie Rick (John Dutton Jr.).  The exhibit includes a buckboard, campsite equipment, a saddle, and many other items that are displayed in a camping vignette that is populated with mannequins attired in costumes from the show.

Images courtesy of 101 Studios and Paramount+.

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, Burnett decided to build “the finest ranch house in West Texas” at Guthrie. It cost $100,000, an enormous sum for the time. Prestigious architectural firm Sanguiner and Staats of Fort Worth was hired to design a grand home to serve as ranch headquarters, to house the ranch manager and as a place to entertain guests. It was constructed with stone quarried right on the ranch. Other materials were brought in by rail car to Paducah and then hauled by wagon to Guthrie.

With 11 bedrooms, it was, indeed, a favorite place to welcome guests. Burnett’s hospitality engaged such well-known visitors as President Roosevelt, Will Rogers and others. The home was filled with amazing items. In the main room, alone, visitors would see hunting trophies, exquisite art and personal items given to Burnett by his friend Quanah Parker and the Comanche chief’s wives. These priceless items remained in the house long after Burnett’s death and through several home remodeling projects. They were given by Burnett’s great-granddaughter, Anne W. Marion, to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas. Also of interest to note is that although Burnett had a bedroom in the home’s southeast corner, he chose to sleep in the back room of the rudimentary Four Sixes Supply House, where he maintained 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

In cooperation with the Petroleum Museum and the Haley Library in Midland, this exhibit will demonstrate how the production of oil on a ranch is incorporated into the other ranch endeavors. Text panels and possibly documents tells the story of the discovery of oil and how that affected land use across the country. With documents and oil production equipment from the Petroleum Museum, the process of accessing oil under ranch lands can be explained. Text panels carry the narrative of the history of ranching and oil.

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.

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 this exhibit 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.