Bud Matthews Switch of the Texas Central Railway
Albany, Shackelford County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1900 the Texas Central Railway extended a line northwest from Albany across this portion of Rose Ella (Matthews) Conrad's cattle ranch. Ella and her brother John A. "Bud" Matthews, for whom this site is named, promptly constructed cattle pens and a loading chute at this location. Surrounding ranchers soon were shipping their cattle from this switch to markets in Fort Worth. As many as 105,000 head of cattle were shipped annually until the railroad ceased operations in 1967. Since that year local ranchers have continued to load cattle onto trucks from this site. (1992)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1900 the Texas Central Railway pushed a line northwest from Albany across the cattle ranch of Rose Ella 'Ella' Conrad, and she and her brother John A. 'Bud' Matthews quickly built cattle pens and a loading chute at the spot named for him. Surrounding ranchers soon shipped their herds — as many as 105,000 head a year — from this switch to the Fort Worth markets. Even after the railroad quit in 1967, ranchers kept loading cattle here onto trucks.
Why it matters
It marks how the railroad joined the open-range cattle country to national markets, sustaining a ranching economy that outlived the rails themselves.
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Related people
- · Rose Ella (Matthews) Conrad
- · John A. "Bud" Matthews
Themes & tags
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