M. B. Sawyer Ranch House
Brownfield, Terry County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Home of Monroe Brown Sawyer and wife Rebecca (Skeen); built 1902. One of earliest homes in Terry County, it predated town of Brownfield. Building material for original five rooms was hauled from Colorado City and Big Spring by wagon. House has been remodeled extensively. In 1881 and 1882 M. B. Sawyer was a Texas Ranger, Company C, Frontier Battalion. He expanded 21 sections of land, bought in 1901, into a 33-section ranch. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1970.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1902, this ranch house stood on the West Texas plains before the town of Brownfield even existed, its lumber hauled by wagon from railheads at Colorado City and Big Spring. Its owner, Monroe Brown Sawyer, had ridden with the Texas Rangers' Frontier Battalion in the early 1880s before turning to ranching, eventually building a modest holding into a 33-section spread. The home is one of the earliest in Terry County.
Why it matters
It embodies the last chapter of the cattle frontier, when former Rangers turned to land and livestock and settlement outpaced the towns that would follow.
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Related people
- · Monroe Brown Sawyer
- · Rebecca Skeen Sawyer
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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