This small, green structure was built in 1907 on the Blankenship Ranch west of Ropesville, in Hockley County, Texas. It stored dried cow manure called cowchips, which were burned for heat and cooking when wood was not available. The Blankenships built a house in Lubbock so their children could attend school. In 1919 the cowchip house was moved from the ranch to be used for the same purpose in town. Cowchips were hauled by wagon from the ranch to Lubbock to keep the building filled. Family members said the cowchip house was forgotten over the years until the residence was torn down in 1983. Doyle Blankenship Thornhill rescued the cowchip house and offered it to the NRHC. It recognizes a necessity of life on the treeless West Texas prairies
