National Register Listing

Hardscramble

a.k.a. Ranger Cabin, Ben and Henry McCulloch Cabin

1806 Tschoepe Rd., Seguin, TX

Hardscramble is a property representative of frontier outposts and homesteads of the mid-nineteenth century in central Texas, specifically Guadalupe County. The earliest pioneers in the area built simple cabins out of whatever material was handy; in the case of Hardscramble, limestone was plentiful. Built in 1841 by Ben and Henry McCulloch, Texas Rangers, Hardscramble is a good example of the frontier settlements common in a country that had recently won its independence from Mexico. While the cabin has since undergone modifications, it served as the home of two other Rangers aside from the McCullochs and still stands as an example of a Texas Ranger homestead. The Texas Rangers are surrounded by as much legend as truth but are an inseparable part of Texas' early history. Ben McCulloch himself proved to be a Ranger of national renown, whose exploits during the Mexican-American War earned him modest fame across the county and later led to his promotion as a general of the Confederacy. The Hardscramble cabin is significant for its association with Ben McCullough and is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Texas Centennial Marker erected 95 years after McCulloch and his brother Henry built the stone cabin celebrates not only the property itself but Texas' official celebration of the state's first 100 years of history as an entity separate from Mexico. Markers such as this one represent early efforts to recognize and increase public appreciation for historically significant places, people, and events. Despite some minor loss of integrity, Hardscramble retains sufficient integrity of location, setting, workmanship, feeling, and association to convey its significance in Texas state history, and is therefore eligible at the state level in the areas of Early Exploration and Military. The Texas Centennial marker retains sufficient integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and thus continues to represent early efforts to recognize the contributions of the past to the state's modern identity. The marker is eligible at the state level in the area of Government.

Seguin

Hardscramble is on a private dirt road off Tschoepe Road near US 90, approximately six miles northeast of the city of Seguin in central Guadalupe County. The county as a whole was sparsely populated prior to annexation by the United States. It was not until 1849 when federal troops established a series of military forts along the frontier and were able to provide protection from Comanche raids, that the Guadalupe County area was considered safe for widespread Anglo settlement.

The city of Seguin started out as Walnut Springs, a community founded in 1838 on the banks of the Guadalupe River by a group of former Texas Rangers. In 1839, the settlers changed the name to Seguin in honor of Juan N. Seguin, a Tejano commander in the Texas Revolutionary Army. Seguin served as a frontier town for many years, facilitating trade between San Antonio and Gonzales. Most of the area's residents were farmers or ranchers and the area's economy was largely agricultural up until the discovery of oil in the 1920s. As the community was settled earlier than any other in the area, it became a focal point for social activity and the natural choice for county seats when Guadalupe County was officially organized in 1846. Shortly after, at the second meeting of the county court in August of that year, the court authorized the construction of the Bastrop Road, from Seguin to Bastrop, following what was called the "Callahan Trail." This trail reportedly passed near the McCulloch cabin as it forded Mill Creek.

Texas Rangers

The founding of Seguin mirrors the settlement of many communities in the county. Most started out as river crossings, mills, churches, or some other resource that serviced a wide area and scattered population. Law enforcement was a necessary yet often lacking aspect of frontier life. To help defend settlers against adversary Indian tribes (such as the Comanche) and later the Mexican Army, the Texas government started the Texas Rangers in 1835, a quasi-military police force mainly composed of volunteers. In 1838, the Rangers began an all-out campaign against the Native Americans, winning a number of decisive battles, and in 1842 were instrumental in repelling Mexican invasions of the Republic. After the annexation of Texas by the United States, the Rangers figured prominently in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, serving as scouts, guides, and soldiers in both General Zachary Taylor's and General Winfield Scott's armies.

Following the war - excepting a brief period around 1858 the Rangers ceased being much more than a curiosity for the next 25 years. In 1874, however, the state legislature created two new groups of Rangers to combat Native American tribes that were considered to be "hostile" on the frontier and act as a state police force. The Frontier Battalion helped the Regular U.S. Army destroy the power of the Comanche and Kiowa tribes in 1874-1875, and rendered itself obsolete after 1882. The Special Force worked mainly across the eastern part of the state curbing lawlessness, battling outlaws, and - in one instance - almost starting a second war with Mexico. By 1900, the Rangers were once again on the verge of obsolescence. The organization was overhauled in 1919 but remained in flux until the mid-1930s when new recruitment standards and strong leadership gave the organization true legitimacy. Since that time, the Texas Rangers have evolved into an elite crime-fighting unit for the state.

Benjamin and Henry McCulloch

Benjamin McCulloch, one of the first occupants of Hardscramble, was born on November 11, 1811, in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Never having a formal education, he learned what he could from the land and those around him. The family moved often, eventually settling near Dyersburg, Tennessee, in 1830. There McCulloch met the famed frontiersman David Crockett and was a close companion of Crockett's sons. When Crockett left for Texas five years later, McCulloch followed him. McCulloch did not reach the Alamo before it fell, but he joined Sam Houston's revolutionary army and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836. He won fame as the operator of one of the "Twin Sisters" cannons during the battle when a poem, "Ben McCulloch at San Jacinto" was written about his heroism. Promoted by Sam Houston to first lieutenant, he fought briefly with the Texas Rangers after the Texas Revolution and earned a reputation as an Indian fighter.

In 1838, his brother Henry joined him in Texas and the McCullough brothers worked together as surveyors in Gonzales. In November and December, they surveyed town lots near the site of a ranger camp at Walnut Springs, refounded the town of Walnut Springs (which had been abandoned during the Texas Revolution), and settled there with Matthew Caldwell and other frontier families. As mentioned above, the council soon renamed Walnut Springs "Seguin". In the summer of 1839, the brothers surveyed the first wagon road between Gonzales and the new capital of Austin. The brothers had limited means in those early years in Texas and shared all their possessions (including lands and livestock) even after Henry was married in 1840. In 1840, Ben's possessions included one saddle horse and 960 acres of bounty land "under survey but without final General Land Office title". One historical account indicates that the brothers were partners "in all enterprises, and the brothers were inseparable". Henry later described their relationship in this way: "No two brothers ever lived, perhaps, that were more endeared to each other, or who dwelt together in more perfect harmony". In 1839, Ben was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, serving one term.

Both McCulloch brothers gained prominence as Texas Rangers and "Indian fighters" in the Battle of Plum Creek on August 12, 1840. This battle with the Comanche was the culmination of events following the Council House Fight in San Antonio earlier that March, when the U.S. military tried to take several Comanche leaders, hostage, during a peace negotiation and all of the Comanche leaders and some of their people were killed while resisting. In response, a large group of Comanche rode the coast of Texas, attacking Victoria, Lavaca Bay, and Linnville. As there was no organized force to address the threat, 200 former Texas Rangers and other volunteers organized under Matthew "Old Paint" Caldwell and met the Comanche at Plum Creek. The victory was overwhelming, with over 100 Comanche dying either in battle or from wounds inflicted during battle. Only one Texan was killed.

Ben and Henry McCulloch built the cabin at Hardscramble sometime around 1841, although the exact date is unknown. A 1950s county history identifies it as their "bachelor quarters," but its construction post-dates Henry's August 20, 1840 marriage to Jane Isabelle Ashby. Other sources indicate that before the construction of the stone house at Hardscramble, Henry, Benjamin, and other young men in the community sometimes kept a "bachelor's hall" or "bachelor's quarters," which consisted of a log cabin near Gonzales. However, the bachelors spent much of their time traveling and in camp. According to friend John Henry Brown, McCulloch's "home was in every homestead," indicating that he frequently relied on the hospitality of other settlers. A contemporary writing about the brothers in 1888 identified that the brothers lived in the "bachelor's quarters" from 1838 to 1840 until Henry built a house in the fall of 1840, shortly after his marriage. Henry's house was "four miles above Gonzales, on the San Marcos River, then considered as a very exposed situation, being on the extreme outskirts of the settlement". It is likely, therefore, that Hardscramble was primarily occupied by Ben McCulloch, the bachelor. The land historically associated with Hardscramble is located in the John Ussery Survey, which was patented by John Ussery in 1841, and the Churchill Fulcher Survey, which was patented by Churchill Fulcher in 1845 (Patents no. 244, v. 1 and 643, v. 2, respectively). Henry was the owner of the land on which the cabin was built.

In 1842 Ben McCullough continued his career as a surveyor and Ranger, fighting the Mexican army and helping push them back across the Rio Grande. During the Mexican-American War, McCulloch was the head of Gen. Taylor's scouts and earned a national reputation thanks to the efforts of journalists accompanying the expedition. His reconnaissance work prior to the Battle of Buena Vista reportedly saved Taylor's army from disaster and earned him the nickname "Lone Ranger"; Taylor himself praised McCulloch and his men for their services in the war. The McCulloch brothers also managed to escape infamy during the Mexican War; although not part of William S. Fisher's command of the mutinous Mier Expedition, they agreed to lead a dozen Texas Rangers to scout ahead. After evaluating the situation via a scouting expedition, the McCullochs abandoned the mission as suicidal and Ben McCulloch advised Fisher to do the same. Fisher did not heed the advice and the men on the expedition were captured, imprisoned, and a percentage of them executed after an escape attempt. By the end of the war, McCulloch was promoted to the rank of major in the volunteer forces, although his dream was to be placed in charge of his own cavalry unit as an officer of the U.S. Army. Due to his lack of formal education and training, however, McCulloch was passed over in favor of graduates from military academies such as West Point.

Frustrated by the stonewalling of his military career, McCulloch returned to Texas and surveyed after the war, helping plan out a large portion of the newly formed Guadalupe County before setting out for the California gold fields in 1849. He failed to strike it rich but was elected the sheriff of Sacramento in 1851. In 1853 he returned to Texas with his brother-in-law Nathaniel Benton (married to McCulloch's younger sister Harriet Maria) and was appointed by President Franklin Pierce to be the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of the state. He held this office for almost eight years. In early 1858, McCulloch was one of two peace officers assigned by President Buchanan to negotiate with Brigham Young's Mormons to alleviate further armed hostilities between the U.S. government and the Mormons.

Later that year, unrest in the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua prompted President Buchanan to send McCulloch out to scout along the international border in then-unorganized Arizona. McCulloch recommended that the U.S. establish a protectorate over the two Mexican states until the violence was quelled. Buchanan supported the idea, but the U.S. Senate voted down a measure authorizing it. Instead, it was decided that Arizona should be made a territory of the U.S., and McCulloch was offered the governorship. Not interested in politics, McCulloch declined. He resigned his U.S. Marshal post in March of 1859 but remained a fixture in Washington D.C., where he invested in George Washington Morse's new repeating carbine rifle.

On the eve of the Civil War in late 1860, McCulloch was an integral part of Texas governor Sam Houston's curious scheme to invade Mexico on his own and turn it into a protectorate of Texas and the United States. McCulloch had written instructions from Houston to travel to New York and acquire a sample of Morse's carbines, to precede an expected order of 7,000-10,000. Funds for the purchase of these rifles were to come from London bankers holding devalued Mexican bonds, with a promise of great returns on the investment once Mexico had been pacified. The results of the meeting with the bankers are unknown; however, it may be assumed that nothing substantial came of it. Also, the Civil War was inevitable at that point, making the purchase of rifles all but impossible due to the short supply and politics. Had Houston's plan ever been put into motion, the governor had intended to put McCulloch at the head of the invading army.

When Texas seceded at the start of 1861, McCulloch joined the Confederate army, was promoted to colonel, and was given the job of seizing Federal forces and arms in the state. Marching to San Antonio, he accepted the surrender of the Federal Arsenal at the Alamo on February 16, 1861. McCulloch's reputation in the Union and Confederacy at this point was widely known; the South loved him, and the North feared him. Rumors abounded in Washington D.C. that McCulloch planned to kidnap President-elect Lincoln on Inauguration Day, and "sightings" placed him everywhere from Richmond, Virginia, to the Shenandoah Valley. The Houston Telegraph gleefully reported in May that "...the powers that be at Washington...entertain a wholesome dread of Ben McCulloch," and as late as July, just before the Battle of Bull Run (or First Manassas), Harper's Weekly reported that McCulloch was sitting in Richmond with "a thousand savage Rangers," ready to attack.

Finally realizing the worth and popularity of the frontier-trained Ranger, Jefferson Davis appointed McCulloch a brigadier general on May 11, 1861; he was the second-ranking brigadier general in the Confederate forces and the first general grade officer commissioned from the civilian community. He had finally achieved his goal of a true military commission. McCulloch was assigned the command of Indian Territory (the future state of Oklahoma), where he helped secure important alliances with several native tribes. Later that year, he won an impressive victory over Union forces at Wilson's Creek (Oak Hills) in Missouri. In January of 1862, McCulloch's army was placed under the command of Major General Earl Van Dorn, who then launched a campaign to take St. Louis a plan McCulloch bitterly opposed. The Confederate army encountered Union forces under Major General Samuel R. Curtis on Little Sugar Creek in Arkansas in early March of that year. Due in large part to McCulloch's mastery of the land, the Confederate forces were able to flank the Union out of a strong position and cut off their communication with the North. On March 7 and March 8, in the ensuing Battle of Pea Ridge (or Elkhorn Tavern), McCulloch's forces, composing the right wing of the Confederate army, overran an artillery battery, but McCulloch was shot dead from his saddle shortly thereafter while scouting out the enemy position. His second in command met a similar fate minutes later while leading a charge to recover McCulloch's body, and his third in command was captured. Bereft of leadership, McCulloch's wing fell apart, the Union army regrouped, and the battle became a rout of the Confederate forces as Van Dorn retreated from the field.

Historians and many participants of the battle attribute the Confederate defeat at Pea Ridge (and subsequent loss of the state of Arkansas) to McCulloch's untimely death. He was buried for a short time on the field, but his body was later removed to Little Rock and then buried in Texas State Cemetery in Austin. During the Civil War, tribute was paid to him again through verse, this time in the form of music; "Gen. Ben McCulloch's March" was written by John Jacob in 1861.

Henry Eustace McCulloch, Ben's younger brother, had a career that roughly paralleled Ben's, although the married Henry McCulloch stayed in Texas when his bachelor brother Ben went to California (Center for American History vertical files). He mixed politics with his military career through the 1840s and 1850s, serving as sheriff of Gonzales, captain of a volunteer regiment during the Mexican-American war, and state representative and senator for Guadalupe County in the Texas legislature. In 1859, he took over his brother Ben's appointment as U.S. Marshal. Although he opposed secession, he fought for the Confederacy along the Mississippi River, eventually reaching the rank of brigadier general. Henry survived the war and gained fame by peacefully ending a standoff at the state capitol between African American forces loyal to lame-duck Reconstructionist governor Edmund Davis and a civilian mob loyal to governor-elect Richard Coke in 1873 during the Coke-Davis Controversy (Seguin Enterprise, Oct. 7, 1983).

Other Occupants and Owners of Hardscramble

Ben lived at Hardscramble on and off until 1849 when he left Texas for the gold fields of California. After Ben vacated the cabin, it was occupied for the next 50 years by two other men associated with the Texas Rangers. Ranger Nathaniel Benton, the McCullochs' brother-in-law through marriage to their sister Harriet Maria, inhabited it in 1858, and again after the Civil War in the late 1860s. Benton, like Ben McCulloch, also fought with the Texan army at San Jacinto and later served in the Confederate army, reaching the rank of Colonel. In 1871, Henry McCulloch sold 400 acres of land and the associated cabin (listed as "herd scrambles" in the deed) to Mrs. Jane Dale, the wife of former Texas Ranger and fellow San Jacinto veteran and Texas Ranger Elijah V. Dale (Guadalupe County Deed Records, volume K, page 654). The Dales lived at the cabin for the next twenty-five years, raising two sons and farming the surrounding land; Elijah reportedly added a hand-hewn log addition to the cabin. In 1885, the Dales donated a one-half acre of the land for a school, named Dale School in Elijah's honor. Jane died in the cabin in 1890.

Upon Elijah's death in 1896, the Dale heirs, Sam and Jarvis, informally agreed upon the division of the 395.5-acre property. At this time, Sam Dale received the northern portion of the property including the Hardscramble Cabin, while Jarvis Dale received the southern portion. Census records from 1900 and 1910 show that Sam Dale was a farmer living on the property, but Jarvis is not enumerated. Instead, Jarvis lived on property that he owned and farmed in Blanco County. In 1910, Sam Dale and his wife Blanche Dale deeded Jarvis Dale the northern 292.5 acres out of the former 400-acre Hardscramble property for $400 as part of the division of property of the estate of Mrs. Jane Dale (Guadalupe County Deed Records, volume 35 page 204). It is likely that Jarvis sold Sam his land to the south in exchange. A USGS map from 1908, updated in 1911, shows two buildings at the southern edge of the property along Tschoepe Road, but it does not show the Hardscramble cabin. The Sam Dale family probably lived in the buildings shown closer to the road. Even after Jarvis purchased the land in Guadalupe County, census records show that he continued to live on his farm in Blanco County in 1920 and 1930. In the early 1930s Jarvis Dale and his wife Zula Dale defaulted on a promissory note against the property made with Jesse R. Clark in 1927 (Guadalupe County Deed of Trust Records, volume 2 page 407). In 1933, the property was sold at auction to the Union Central Life Insurance Company, which marked the end of the Dale family's ownership of the property for more than sixty years.

Although the property was no longer owned by the Dale family, the cabin was saved and later recognized with a Texas Centennial marker through the efforts of Jarvis and Zula Dale's daughter, Mae Dale Stubbs Merty. The Texas Centennial marker program was just one part of a statewide celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of Texas' independence from Mexico. Organized to not only celebrate the event but also to promote the state to the rest of the country, the Texas Centennial program consisted of a variety of programs working together to promote the state and hold festivals and activities during the year-long period between November 1935 and November 1936. Spurred on by speeches and advocacy groups, the Texas Legislature passed a constitutional amendment in 1932-33 authorizing the celebration and instructing the government to provide adequate funding for it. In June 1935 a permanent Texas Centennial Commission was formed to organize and oversee the celebration.

The City of Gonzales kicked off the year-long celebration in November 1935, followed by San Antonio in December. Throughout 1936, cities across the state held events, festivals, mock battles, parades, and exhibitions. The largest was the central exposition in Dallas, held at the state fairgrounds. The Commission worked with the Texas Highway Department, the Advisory Board of Texas Historians, and the Works Project Administration to erect permanent buildings, markers, statues, monuments, and grave markers commemorating the event. Each Texas county was given a marker giving the date of incorporation and story behind the county's name, to be placed at a location of the county government's choosing. Other markers and monuments commemorated special events, places, or people. The marker at Hardscramble is one such marker, celebrating the McCulloch brothers, Nathaniel Benton, and Elijah Dale, all Texas Rangers who inhabited the cabin.

During the period when the marker was installed, the Hardscramble property was owned by H.A. Schmidt and his wife Jennie Mae Schmidt. In 1933, H.A. Schmidt purchased the 292.5-acre Hardscramble property from the Union Central Life Insurance Company for $2,486.25 (Guadalupe County Deed Records, volume 151 page 452). Schmidt remained the owner of the property until 1966, although in 1954 he sold off the eastern 150 acres to the Veterans Land Board of Texas (Guadalupe County Deeds, volume 272 page 224). Under Schmidt's ownership, the land associated with the Hardscramble probably was used for ranching. As shown by a historic aerial photograph from 1951, the land associated with Hardscramble was covered in rough brush and not cultivated.

In 1955, T.H. Hollamon, III purchased the 292.5-acre Hardscramble property - both the 150 acres sold to the Veterans Land Board and the 142.5 acres retained by H.A. Schmidt. By 1965, historic aerial photographs show that the land use near Hardscramble was varied, with some sections cleared for farming but other sections rough and probably used for ranching. T.H. Hollamon and his wife, Sandra Kay Hollamon, owned the 292.5-acre property until 1972.

In 1972, the Hollamon family sold the property to Benton Donegan and B.W. Hudgens in return for the assumption of a $44,400 promissory note that they owed to the Federal Land Bank of Houston (Guadalupe County Deeds, volume 449 page 447). In 1995, Hudgens gave Donegan his interest in 148.730 acres of the property that included the Hardscramble cabin, so that Donegan became the sole owner (Guadalupe County Deeds, volume1134 page 121). (Hudgens, in return, became the sole owner of the remainder of the property.) In 2000, Benton Donegan and his wife, Mary Louise Donegan, sold the 148.730-acre property including the Hardscramble cabin to Shawn Davis Vickers and his wife, Kelley Ann Vickers (Guadalupe County Deeds, volume 1551 page 303). Today, Guadalupe County tax appraisal records separate the property owned by Vickers in the Fulcher and Ussery Surveys into three separate parcels: (1) 37.00 acres in the Fulcher Survey, which includes the Hardscramble cabin; (2) 135.0820 acres in the Ussery Survey, with no improvements recorded; and (3) 1.00 acre in the Ussery Survey, which includes a modern residence, garage, and carport. The land-use pattern today remains similar to the pattern in the mid-twentieth century, with ranching predominant but some land cleared for farming.

Preservation Efforts

The cabin at the Hardscramble site is in good condition. Although constructed of stone, the floorplan of the house is similar to a single-pen log house of the Scotch-Irish tradition in Texas. Unlike log houses, however, the durable construction material of this building has allowed it to survive the years in remarkably good condition. Recent preservation efforts have largely concentrated on stabilization; keeping the building intact, protected, and sound. The walls are original; although Elijah Dale's wood add-on was removed sometime before 1936. The original wood entry stairs were long ago replaced with concrete stairs for durability, and the original roof was completely replaced with a metal shed roof. The current roof protects the building well but resulted in some alteration to the stonework at the roofline and does not match the original. The interior has been re-plastered with Portland cement stucco in several places, but the flooring appears original.

The visible portion of the hand-dug well or cistern is likely a later addition to the property, although the well itself is likely contemporary with the cabin. The stone base or curbing and the wood well posts and shed are in good condition. An undated postcard (but likely circa 1970-1980) picturing the cabin shows wooden steps and the well with the well shed intact but does not show any kind of roof on the cabin.

Aside from basic maintenance to keep it free of intrusive vegetation, the Texas Centennial marker has undergone little repair work or benefited from any preservation efforts. The marker is still sound and intact, however, due to its sturdy construction and durable materials.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2011.