Cole-McNeill-Jones House
Crosbyton, Crosby County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Handy P. Cole (1864-1923), foreman of the Spur Ranch and later sheriff of Dickens County, bought this property in 1897. The original part of this house was built about 1900. In 1904 James Calvin McNeill, Jr. (1875-1949) bought the place and moved here from his father's adjoining ranch. In 1917 additions were made to the residence. The property was sold in 1943 to the estate of West Texas business leader Morgan Jones with an arrangement for continued occupancy by the McNeill Family. (1982)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Handy P. Cole — foreman of the sprawling Spur Ranch and later sheriff of Dickens County — bought this West Texas property in 1897 and built the original house around 1900. In 1904 rancher James Calvin McNeill, Jr. acquired it and moved over from his father's adjoining spread, enlarging the home in 1917. It later passed to the estate of West Texas business leader Morgan Jones, with the McNeill family staying on.
Why it matters
The house's succession of ranch foremen, sheriffs, and cattlemen embodies the ranching economy that defined the settlement of the West Texas plains.
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Related people
- · Handy P. Cole
- · James Calvin McNeill, Jr.
- · Morgan Jones
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
McNeill Ranch
Crosbyton, TX
In 1882 Brazoria County rancher James Calvin McNeill bought 8,000 acres in Crosby County to grow his cattle operation, later expanding it to more than 18,000 acres. Managing two far-flung ranches proved hard, so in 1890 his cousin George M. Williamson arrived to help, and in 1902 his son James Calvin McNeill Jr. took the reins. When the elder McNeill divided the property among his children in 1930, the ranch had already become a fixture of the region's cattle country.
Espuela
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Espuela began in 1870 with J.H. Parrish's dugout store on Duck Creek, serving travelers, buffalo hunters, and cattlemen as the last Native tribes left the region in 1876. The vast Espuela Land & Cattle Company soon fenced more than half a million acres, and the town it anchored grew into the county's largest, becoming the first seat of Dickens County. After losing the county seat to Dickens in 1892 and the railroad-era shift to nearby Spur, the town faded—today only its cemetery remains.
Old Dewey Lake
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Two-Buckle Ranch Headquarters, Kentucky Cattle Raising Company
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