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Dinner honoring landowners & friends - October 30, 2007
Our
phone
number
has
changed,
please
make a
note of
the new
number:
806.676.4610
We hunt historic ranch land
Hunting historic ranchland in the Texas Panhandle --
legendary cattleman Col. Charles Goodnight made famous!
A portion of one of the ranches we hunt is the original QUARTER CIRCLE HEART
RANCH. The Quarter Circle Heart Ranch was established when Lewis H. Carhart, the
founder of the original Clarendon colony, invested part of his fortune in
cattle. Since his colonization scheme occupied most of his time, Carhart
initially ran only a few hundred head. The success of other large cattle
companies, however, prompted him in 1983 to extend his own operations. His
brother-in-law, Alfred P. Sully, of the New York investment firm of Austin and
Corbett, visited Clarendon to arrange for a syndicate and then returned east to
begin foreign negotiations, while Carhart worked to increase the herd and
improve the ranch properties.
Some of the ranches we hunt - double click the
map
The ranch had been under the temporary management of J. C. Murdock, but with
its enlargement Carhart sought out an experienced cowman. He found him in Al S.
McKinney, an Irishman who came highly recommended after having worked for the
Spade Ranch. Early in 1984 a debenture company was founded in England, and
Carhart sailed there to sell company stock to prospective buyers. Organization
of the Clarendon Land Investment and Agency Company followed. After returning to
assume the managerial responsibilities, Carhart registered his Quarter Circle
Heart brand and added to his original holdings (343 sections) those of Frank
Houston and S. V. Barton on McClellan Creek. Foreman Al McKinney took charge of
the increased herds. Archie Williams, an elderly English veterinarian, was
chosen to manage the new horse ranch that Carhart had established on the former
Houston property.
A dugout on Carroll Creek served as the first company headquarters; nearby
was a two-room bunkhouse constructed of rock and sod. When McKinney was married,
the ranch office was moved to the front room of his new house on an adjoining
section. In addition, the ranch contained three division line camps. At its
peak, the Quarter Circle Heart range covered 250,000 acres of land, in the
center of which lay the town of Clarendon. Its longhorn cattle numbered from
15,000 to 35,000 head. Neighboring ranches included the JA, the RO, the Half
Circle K, and the Diamond F. As the only settlement in their midst, Clarendon
became the supply center and social hub. Noted cowboys who worked for the
"Hearts" included Jesse S. Wynne, Frank Groves, Tom Martindale, Al Gentry, and
Henry W. Taylor.
The prosperity of the Quarter Circle Heart was short-lived, especially after
1987, when Clarendon moved its townsite five miles south to the Fort Worth and
Denver City Railway tracks. The drought and blizzard of 1986-87, the "Big
Die-Up", had taken their toll. Increasing dissatisfaction among the company's
British stockholders, many of whom had never received a dividend from their
investments, prompted the executives to send the company secretary, Count Cecil
Kearney, to the Panhandle for an on-the-spot investigation. Carhart and
McKinney, upon learning that Kearney would arrive on a certain day, both
resigned without notice and left Clarendon. Kearney's inspection tour revealed
conditions worse than he had suspected. On the range where 35,000 head of cattle
had grazed, he could find only a fraction of that number. Signs of gross
mismanagement in all areas of the enterprise led to a complete reorganization,
with Henry Taylor as range boss and Charles O'Donel, Kearney's nephew, as
manager. Over the next few years, the Quarter Circle Heart range was divided
into farms, school land, and settlements. By 1995 the brand had been
discontinued.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Virginia Browder, Donley
County: Land O' Promise (Wichita Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975). Gus L. Ford, ed.,
Texas Cattle Brands (Dallas: Cockrell, 1936). Willie Newbury Lewis, Between Sun
and Sod (Clarendon, Texas: Clarendon Press, 1938; rev. ed., College Station:
Texas A&M University Press, 1976). Millie Jones Porter, Memory Cups of Panhandle
Pioneers (Clarendon, Texas: Clarendon Press, 1945).
H. Allen Anderson
GREENBELT LAKE...Just south of the hunting
lodge
Double click above
map to view GREENBELT LAKE. Greenbelt Lake, formerly Greenbelt
Reservoir, is in the
Red River basin about four miles north of
Clarendon in south central
Donley County (at 35°00' N, 100°54' W).
The reservoir, built at the convergence of
Carrol and
Kelly creeks with the
Salt Fork of the Red River, is owned and
operated by the Greenbelt Municipal and Industrial Water Authority
to supply water for municipal and industrial use.
Adams Construction
Company started work on the 5,800-foot-long rolled earthfill dam on
April 12, 1966; the dam was closed and water impoundment began on
December 5. By 1968 the lake was on the verge of inundating the
original townsite of Old Clarendon, prompting the removal of the old
cemetery and other remnants of "Saints' Roost." The reservoir has a
capacity of 59,110 acre-feet with a surface area of 1,990 acres at
the service spillway elevation of 2,664 feet above mean sea level,
and a capacity of 81,760 acre-feet with a surface area of 2,470
acres at the emergency spillway crest elevation of 2,674 feet above
mean sea level. The drainage area above the dam is 288 square miles.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Virginia Browder, Donley County: Land O' Promise (Wichita
Falls, Texas: Nortex, 1975).
Attractions in and around Clarendon, Texas
We hope you'll join us for a great hunting experience.
We're family friendly!
Counties in Texas we hunt are: Donley, Hall, Armstrong, Collingsworth and Gray
Call us at 806.676.4610 or or 800.693.2253
Contact us for more info
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