Wildcatter Ranch Historical Theme Rooms

As you travel this great country you see it everywhere . . . “Visit this historical site or visit that historical site.” There are, of course, so many different historical spots that portray important periods in our country’s history.

But if you will let us indulge in a bit of “historical arrogance,” we would dare to say this area is at the very top of the list when it comes to “Old West Pioneer Cowboy Indian history.”

Being such an historical area is similar to a successful food or mercantile business in that it’s “location, location, location.” In the case of Young, Palo Pinto and Jack counties, that meant two major U. S. Forts — Belknap and Richardson — being located here to police Indian problems and having one of the two Indian reservations ever located in Texas.

It meant several famous trails and routes, such as the Goodnight-Loving Trail and the Butterfield Overland Stage Route, passing through the area. It meant having possibly the most dangerous stretch of travel anywhere in the 1860s and 1870s routed through Young County, called the Salt Creek Prairie, where the graves of unfortunate pioneers killed by Indians dotted the landscape.

It meant having a major buffalo migration route pass through, which had so much influence on the western economy for both whites and Indians. It meant the same fertile grasses that were good for buffalo would be good for the cattle that would set in motion one of the nation’s great industries.

So much happened here in those years that four movies or television miniseries are based on events that occurred in Young County alone, and we haven’t even mentioned the oil boomtown era of the 1920s, which spurred another great industry.

So as you stay in our guest rooms, let yourself be engulfed by the historical theme we so proudly feature. Visit our library and check out the many books that tell of these stories. A reference guide is listed in this booklet.
We invite you to visit these historical sites to which you will find directions at the back of the booklet. All of the locations are close to Wildcatter Ranch.

Yes, we have so many stories to tell. So check into your room, look across the Palo Pinto Hills and imagine what it would have been like in those early years.