McBride Ranch House
Amarillo, Potter County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(Built 1903) A pioneer settler quarried Alibates dolomite from the canyon rim to build this house, mortared with lime burned on the site. Wood in ridge beams, door and window lintels, ice house, and corral came from old railroad bridge timbers salvaged from Canadian River. The floors are of masonry mortar. The builder, David Nichols McBride, was born Oct. 22, 1849, in Henry County, Ill.; married Abigail Catharine Stringer at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, July 2, 1876; and settled near village of Amarillo Sept. 17, 1887--just 18 days after Potter County was organized. The McBrides had seven children. This site (in "Watered Homestead") and three alternate "Dry Grazing" school lands sections were situated in center of the famous LX Ranch, owned by the American Pastoral Company of London. Patent for his land was issued to McBride in 1901, upon proof of three years' occupancy. The homestead section cost $1.50 an acre, with payments extending over 40 years at 3% interest. The grazing land cost $1.00 an acre. McBride died June 26, 1928, in Needles, Calif.; heirs sold this property in 1963 to the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority. It is now administered by the National Park Service, Sanford Recreation Area, Lake Meredith. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1903 pioneer settler David Nichols McBride quarried Alibates dolomite from the canyon rim and burned his own lime on site to raise this Panhandle ranch house, framing it with timbers salvaged from an old railroad bridge over the Canadian River. Having claimed his homestead in the heart of the vast, London-owned LX Ranch, McBride proved up his land under the patient terms of state settlement law. The house survived him and eventually passed to the National Park Service within the Lake Meredith recreation area.
Why it matters
Built from the very stone and salvage of its surroundings amid one of the great cattle empires, the house embodies the resourcefulness of homesteaders who settled the open range of the Texas Panhandle.
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Related people
- · David Nichols McBride
- · Abigail Catharine Stringer McBride
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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