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Home on the Range, Ranching Heritage Center Preserves Area's History
by
Jacqui Streety, editor-in-chief
The
National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock was established to maintain the
chronicles of the ranching commerce of North America.
More than 36 bona fide ranching structures have been moved to the historical
park to display the growth of ranch life from the late 1700s to the early
1900s.
In 1966, Dr. Grover Murray, then president of
Texas Tech University, witnessed the natural decay of many ranching
buildings. With the support of the TTU Board of Regents, Murray developed
the concept of the Ranching Heritage Center, as a means of affording
“significant evidence of the history of ranching and development of the
West.”
Land was set aside next to the museum in 1968 by
TTU. The Renderbrook-Spade Blacksmith Shop was the first building to arrive
at the site in 1970. Eighteen other buildings, four windmills, and corrals
were placed on the site for the formal opening and dedication on July 2,
1976.
In 1988, the center was made a separate entity
from the university and a year later, “national” was added to the Ranging
Heritage Center’s official name.
Some of the nation’s oldest and largest ranches
were instituted in the Panhandle and Southern Plains of Texas.
Events are held annually, including, the Boss of
the Plains Award Dinner in the spring, history-and-preservation-based youth
classes in the summer, National Golden Spur Award Dinner in the summer and
Ranch Day in the fall. Also, in December, Candlelight at the Ranch is held,
featuring luminaria used to decorate the ranch.
The museum and historical park is about 14.5
acres next to the Tech campus. Located east of Indiana on Fourth Street, the
center is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday
from 1 p. m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on major holidays. There is no admission
fee, and the park is accessible to people with special needs.
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