Hittson Ranch Headquarters on Battle Creek
Putnam vicinity, Callahan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Nearby Battle Creek was given its name in 1840 by a small band of men who had traveled to this area in search of hostile Indians. A fight took place near the creek when a raiding party attacked the group. Approximately, twenty years later, cattleman John Hittson (1831-1880) established his ranch headquarters at the site of the battleground. The headquarters, used only when cattle were rounded up from surrounding lands, consisted of corrals, branding pens, and a small shelter. It is believed to be the first ranching headquarters established in Callahan County. (1984)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Battle Creek earned its name in 1840 when a party hunting raiders was itself attacked near the water. Two decades later cattleman John Hittson built what is believed to be the first ranch headquarters in Callahan County on that same ground — just corrals, branding pens, and a modest shelter used at roundup time. It marks the moment open Texas rangeland began to be organized into working ranches.
Why it matters
The site captures the overlap of frontier Indian conflict and the rise of the open-range cattle industry that defined the American West.
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Related people
- · John Hittson
Themes & tags
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