Prude Ranch
Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Andrew Prude purchased three sections of land here in 1897 from J. F. Taylor, and established the A. G. Prude Ranch. Soon he moved his wife Ora to a small log house on their property on Limpia Creek. In 1900 he completed a wooden frame house for their family, and in 1902 he added 1257 acres to the ranch. In 1911 a large 2-story ranch house was built of adobe bricks cast in a nearby stock tank, and was called the "Big House." By 1920 Andrew Prude had expanded his ranch to 40 sections of land. In 1921 the Prudes started a guest ranch to share the beauty of the land and cool summer months with city dwellers. Early guests arrived on the Southern Pacific Railroad. When a severe drought and the Depression of the 1930s forced Andrew Prude to sell his cattle and most of his land, the Prudes decided to operate the guest ranch full time. Soon a new highway was built, and guests traveled here from many locales. New guest houses were built, and a coaching school and rodeo were added. Followed by summer camps for boys and girls, and educational programs. the facilities have expanded over the years to accommodate a wide variety of activities. Prude Ranch continues to be a popular tourist destination. (1996)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Andrew Prude bought his first sections of land in the cool, high country near Fort Davis in 1897 and steadily built his holdings into a sprawling 40-section cattle ranch, capped by a two-story adobe "Big House" in 1911. In 1921 the family began taking in city guests arriving by the Southern Pacific Railroad, and when drought and the Depression forced the sale of their cattle, they turned the guest ranch into their livelihood — adding cabins, a rodeo, and youth camps that keep the place a West Texas destination today.
Why it matters
Prude Ranch marks the transformation of the open-range cattle frontier into the tourism-and-recreation West, a shift that reshaped ranch economies across the arid Southwest.
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Related people
- · Andrew Prude
- · Ora Prude
Themes & tags
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