R. L. White Ranch
Helotes, Bexar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Ryall Luther White (1878-1962) was born in Jasper, Texas to John Luther Calvin White and Texanna Priscilla Ryall White. He married his wife, Ethel Gertrude Smyth, in 1907 and began working for his father-in-law as the manager of the Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company. In 1920, he resigned to open his own paving company, the Alamo Paving Company, in San Antonio paving exclusively with rock asphalt. White bought his own rock asphalt mine to have his own supply of the material and joined forces with his brother, Tom White. By 1928, Whites Mine Corporation had developed a new process to manufacture onsite a cold-mix paving material and the company began to market the product during the Great Depression. In 1926, White began to build the ranch which was to become one of the largest ranches in northwest Bexar county. The ranch reflects Whites desire to impress his guests with Texas rustic-style architecture on a grand scale. The best example of this style is the Lake Pavilion. It is a two-story rectangular, symmetrical stone structure designed in this architectural style. The building uses the locally available gray and cream-colored limestone to face the walls, inside and out. The Main House, also called Gerties House after Whites wife, is a rectangular, single-story, end-gabled stone house also designed in the rustic style with gray, asphalt shingles. The Red Cottage, a square, one-story, front end gabled, wood frame house with red-painted siding and a standing seam metal roof, was built in 1926. It was one of the first buildings and used to keep horses which were sold to the U.S. Army. Today, the ranchs 3500 acres and historic buildings reflect the tradition of Texas grand homesteads. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2012
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ryall Luther White managed the Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company before opening his own Alamo Paving Company in San Antonio in 1920, buying his own rock-asphalt mine and, by 1928, developing a new on-site cold-mix paving process marketed through the Great Depression. Beginning in 1926 he built one of the largest ranches in northwest Bexar County, its buildings — the two-story limestone Lake Pavilion, the Main House, and the Red Cottage — showcasing Texas rustic-style architecture on a grand scale. The ranch's 3,500 acres and historic buildings still reflect the tradition of grand Texas homesteads.
Why it matters
White's ranch joins industrial enterprise with the rustic architectural grandeur that came to define the Texas ranch ideal in the early twentieth century.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Diane Llyod12.9 mi away
- Pirate Ship14.3 mi away
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · Ryall Luther White
- · Ethel Gertrude Smyth White
- · Tom White
Themes & tags
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