OUR HISTORY

Buffalo Mountain Ranch is a square piece of Texas high country encompassing 4,400 acres. The land has been the traditional home of many types of wildlife. The first human occupants of the land were Native Americans. They found the land quite hospitable. There were flowing creeks, game galore, plenty of useful trees and plants, and lots of flint which had weathered from the limestone mesas. This became a favorite hunting ground of the natives, and even today it is quite common to find pieces of “worked” flint that once was held in the hands of the first Americans. If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine them stalking their next meals with flint-pointed spears and arrows. If you find arrow points, or other artifacts, please remember they are property of Buffalo Mountain Ranch, and must not be disturbed.

The American Bison – known then as the Buffalo – used this area to migrate from their summer pastures in the north, to their southern habitats. Twice every year the land would be black with migrating buffalo. The huge herds passed between the rows of low mountains just to the east of Buffalo Mountain Ranch at a place called “Buffalo Gap”, a town which exists today. The white man immediately saw the value of the confluence of water, the oncoming railroad, the wide grasslands suitable for grazing cattle, the narrow passage used by the buffalo, and established the town of Abilene just fifteen miles north of Buffalo Mountain Ranch. The town was named after Abilene, Kansas, in a quite obvious hope that the new town of Abilene would have the same fame (and fortune) as its already-famous predecessor.

After the white man settled the area, the Republic of Texas was formed. The Congress of the Republic of Texas wished to provide for schools in some of the more remote areas of the state, and determined to sell entire leagues of land (about 4500 acres) for the benefit of such outlying schools. In 1839, the Republic set aside some of the most beautiful land in the state, atop the high hills straddling the Callahan Divide, in the headwaters of Raccoon Creek. They called it “Goliad County School Lands”. The land was Patented from the State of Texas in 1858 to the School Commissioners of Goliad County. These Commissioners then sold the land to the first white settler, J.T. Anderson, in March 1893. The land was soon fenced, and “Buffalo Mountain Ranch” was born. Today you can find barbed wire in the perimeter fence which is as old as the 1870’s.

In the early 1940s, America prepared for war. The Government took the land all along the Callahan Divide, and turned it into a training base for soldiers headed to Europe. They called it Camp Barkley. One can still find the occasional clip for M-1 rifles, or spent military cartridges which have been lying on the ground for the last 60 years. There’s a lot of history to find just lying on the ground. Once the war was won, the government gave the land back to the original owners, and it became an active cattle ranch once again.

In the great highway-building era of the 50s and 60s, US Highway 277 was built from Abilene to San Angelo Texas. That highway came up through one of the canyons and crested the Callahan Divide on the Ranch. The government condemned a portion of the land to provide a right-of-way for the highway, cutting off about 87 acres on one corner of the league. That small piece now belongs to another owner, and is the only portion of the original land grant which was sold to others.

In the 1960s, the government once again took part of the land, and built a headquarters for communications  on the ranch. Even today one can still find abandoned missile silos near the ranch which once housed Nike missiles. After the Air Force abandoned the military complex, the Ledbetter family purchased the complex, and reunited the land once again.

In 1976, the Ledbetter family purchased the ranch and began cattle operations. Herman Ledbetter passed away, and his son, H. J. Ledbetter, Jr., began working on transforming the ranch into a hunter’s dream. Mr. Ledbetter’s dream is to have the hunter pass through the front gate, and then turn the clocks back about 150 years – forgetting the occasional sound of pickup trucks and ranch equipment.

Buffalo Mountain Ranch is primarily upon the high hilltops, but on three corners the terrain falls off into some quite rugged canyons which can be accessed only by walking, horseback, or four-wheel drive vehicles. The terrain is covered with lots of huge oak trees, cedar, mesquite, and the like. Buffalo Mountain Ranch is about 500-700 feet higher than the surrounding country, making it about five degrees cooler as well. That means in the summer our weather is more moderate, but in the winter we regularly have snow as well.

Some places on the ranch are so densely forested, and rugged in terrain, we are certain there are places even now that no human being has ever walked. There are several little springs that feed small streams during the wet years. In wet weather, there are flowing streams. Several small lakes and ponds hold water for animals. Several windmills fill large stone tanks which keep the water troughs full.

The land has been traditional habitat for Whitetail deer, Rio Grande turkey, Bison, and a host of other species including fox, raccoon, coyote, bobcat, porcupine, rabbit, quail, dove and such. Each of these are represented on the ranch.

Active management of the game animals on the ranch has been undertaken. The cattle have all (except for a small herd for personal consumption) been removed entirely.