Discover Lamb: High Plains and Ranch History

The fertile High Plains, cotton growing, and ranching history shape Lamb County. What makes the area especially appealing is the range of stories to discover here: from Spring Lake, a camping and watering place for Native Americans, to early trade routes, ranch history, and museums. If you are planning a trip to Lamb, you can choose to focus on the landscape, agriculture, or history, and use that focus to guide your search for a vacation rental.

The High Plains and Agriculture

Lamb County has a fertile High Plains landscape. The county is also considered a leading cotton-producing area; agriculture and ranching continue to provide a diverse economic foundation. The landscape and how the land is used are thus at the heart of two distinct but closely connected ways of experiencing the region.

When searching for a vacation rental in Lamb, it helps to ask which of these aspects you would like to learn more about: the county’s agricultural character or specific stories about settlements, ranches, and historic sites. Your own travel interests can provide a fitting starting point for planning.

Spring Lake and the History of the XIT Ranch

Spring Lake was a camping and watering place for Native Americans that was used extensively for buffalo hunting. After the Capitol Syndicate acquired it, Spring Lake became the headquarters of the largest division of the XIT Ranch. The ranch’s history also includes the Yellowhouse Division, which built a 132-foot-tall windmill in 1887. The former ranch headquarters in Spade is a historic landmark.

Another specific date is the replica of XIT’s Giant Windmill, erected on May 27, 1969. This date adds to the timeline of the ranch’s history.

Historic Routes and Water

Traces of Mackenzie’s Trail are still known today. The Comanchero Trail was one of several routes traders used to trade with Indigenous groups, primarily the Comanches. At Rocky Ford Crossing, settlers built a gypsum road through the valley in 1926 so that traffic could pass even in wet weather. These routes tell of different kinds of movement and trade in the county’s history.

The first irrigation well in Lamb County was dug by hand in 1902 by Ewing Halsell. It supplied crops, livestock, and household needs. An irrigation ditch ran more than half a mile to the headquarters of Halsell’s “Mashed O” Ranch.

Churches, Government, and Local History

Specific details also reveal the county’s early institutions. Lamb County’s first courthouse was a nine-room frame building that served until it burned down in 1922. The county’s first Missionary Baptist Church was established in 1903 in a farmhouse northeast of what later became Olton. Olton’s Union Church Bell was a 950-pound steel bell purchased shortly after the Union Church was built around 1909.

Museums and Further Discoveries

At the Littlefield Lands/Duggan House Museum, visitors can explore the history of Littlefield and Lamb County. The Duggan House Museum also dedicates its “Radio Room” exhibit to Jennings; it features memorabilia from KVOW’s and Jennings’s formative years. If you are planning a visit specifically to see this exhibit, it is best to check in advance whether it is currently on display in this form.

The outdoor exhibits at the Sand Crawl Museum include windmills, farm equipment, a partially underground house, and recreations of sand-crawl formations. Five arrows from the Quanah Parker Trail mark sites in Lamb County. If you are specifically looking for the arrows, check locally to see whether the installations are present on site.

These varied themes give your vacation rental search a personal focus: would you like to connect your stay mainly with exhibits and local history, or are you more interested in ranching, trade routes, and early water systems?

Explore More Destinations

Explore more destinations: Littlefield, Harris, Van Zandt, Presidio County, Andrews County, Scurry County, Gray, Gaines County.

For the main travel overview: Texas.