Historical Marker

Houston Ranch

Historical marker location:

Bluff Dale, Texas

( 3 miles north on CR 148)

FRANK R. PUTNAM WAS BORN ON NOVEMBER 15, 1848 IN MASSACHUSETTS. IN 1879, FRANK AND HIS BROTHER, ADDISON, PURCHASED 25,000 ACRES ON UPPER BERRY CREEK. IN 1883, THE PUTNAMS BUILT A THREE-STORY FRAME BUILDING AND A COMMISSARY WHERE TRAVELERS COULD PURCHASE SUPPLIES. THE PUTNAM (OR “PUT”) RANCH INCLUDED WOLF CREEK, BERRY CREEK AND ROBERSON CREEK, AND WAS THE FIRST IN THE AREA TO HAVE DIPPING VATS FOR CATTLE. THE PUTNAMS SOLD THEIR SHARES TO THE ERATH CATTLE COMPANY IN 1883 WHICH WAS THEN SOLD TO THE JARVIS FAMILY IN 1898. THE I.T. HOUSTON FAMILY PURCHASED AROUND 12,000 ACRES OUT OF THE CENTER OF THE RANCH IN 1942, AND FOUR GENERATIONS OF HOUSTONS HAVE SINCE OPERATED THIS HISTORIC RANCH.