Rankin, Texas

Upton County is in southwestern Texas. The center of the county lies at 31°22' north latitude and 102°02' west longitude. Rankin, the county's seat of government, is fifty air miles south of Midland. The area was named for Confederate generals John C. Upton and William F. Upton . Upton County covers 1,241 square miles of rocky land in the Edwards Plateau vegetation region; elevations range from 2,300 to 3,000 feet above sea level. While northern sections of the county are flat, the southern sections are rolling and hilly and are pierced by numerous small lakes. The county's exposed limestone surfaces and sandy loam soils are covered with scrub mesquite , greasewood, cacti, catclaw, and grasses. King Mountain in the southwest is the area's highest point; Castle Mountain is fifteen miles north and Moltke Hill is fifteen miles southeast of King Mountain. Numerous small lakes drain to the tributaries of the Middle Concho and Pecos rivers. Rainfall averages only 12.70 inches annually. Temperatures range from an average minimum of 33° F in January to an average maximum of 96° in July. The average growing season lasts 232 days. Mineral resources include caliche and limestone. The area's transportation network includes U.S. Highway 385, U.S. Highway 67, and State highways 329 and 349. The area that is now Upton County was traversed during the early nineteenth century by Comanches and Apaches, who competed for hunting grounds in the area. Both tribes were superior horsemen, capable hunters of buffalo and other game, and relentless raiders of their neighbors. Despite their considerable achievements in material culture and adaptation to their environment, the Indians lost their domination of the region to the United States Army and the advancing tide of White settlers in the 1870s and 1880s. In the 1860s the Chihuahua Trail from Mexico to Indianola, Texas, a significant trading route, crossed the region, as did the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail (1858-61), and the Goodnight-Loving Trail . Originally part of the Bexar Territory, the area was part of Tom Green County from 1874 until 1887, when Upton County was established. One of the earliest settlers was Dr. George W. Elliott, who moved into the area in 1881 and drilled the first well; he reached water at thirty feet. The area was part of the open range until the 1890s, when sheepmen crossed the Pecos River to compete with cattlemen for the range. The United States Census counted fifty-two people living in the county in 1890, and only forty-eight in 1900; most of these belonged to the families of Arthur F. Schnaubert, Frank Inghram, and Jim O'Bryan, or were hired cowboys and ranch hands. According to the agricultural census for 1900, there were eighteen ranches that year; almost 39,000 cattle were reported, but virtually no crops were grown. The area began to attract more settlers in the early twentieth century. In 1900 and 1901 open range cattlemen started selling their holdings, and the state encouraged the sale of school and railroad lands for settlement. Rancher Henry M. Halff tried to develop an irrigation area for cotton and vegetable raising and sold town lots at Upland for the price of a notary fee. Upland opened a public school in 1908. By 1910 there were 105 ranches or farms in the area, and the population had increased to 501; the county was organized that year, and Upland became the county seat. In the fall of 1911 the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway reached the townsite of Rankin, and by January 1912 most of the people living in Upland had moved to Rankin. The county's population soon was concentrated at or near Rankin, and after 1913 the town's school system served the entire county. Rankin became the county seat in 1921. Between 1911 and 1912 some farmers, discouraged by poor soil and droughts, abandoned their efforts to raise crops in the area. Remaining settlers who raised horses, cattle, and sheep did well during the high market price years

Built as showplace by Ira Yates, for boom crowds drawn by his $15,000,000 gusher of 1926, on dry ranch with which he was "stuck" in swap off of a general store. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964

Since 1952, the community of Rankin has annually hosted an All-Kid Rodeo, an event unique to the sport, which has its roots in the American cattle industry. Ranching has been the backbone of the Rankin economy since the town’s establishment in 1911. Many of the cowboys and ranchers in Rankin participated in rodeos, while other individuals from outside the area came here for roping events. The competitors often brought their children, many of whom practiced events and wanted an outlet for their skills. In 1952, professional roper Walton Poage, along with his son and his son’s friend, enlisted help from residents in Rankin in creating an All-Kid Rodeo. The community came together to support the idea, and the first All-Kid Rodeo was held that year in two go-rounds of calf roping, ribbon roping, goat roping, steer riding, and a barrel race and boot scramble. The entry fee for each event was $1.00 and prizes were donated by local businesses and residents. By the next year, the Upton County 4-H Club began to sponsor the rodeo. The event grew in popularity, and in 1954, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 individuals attended each night of the event. Since its inception, the All-Kid Rodeo has been held every year. It brings commerce into Rankin, drawing in visitors and competitors, many of whom later became members of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. It was the first rodeo contest for many boys and girls, and helped them get a start in the sport. Today, the All-Kid Rodeo continues to be a unique tradition promoting the ranching and family spirit of the Rankin community. (2010)

Rankin, the county seat of Upton County, is in the southeast part of the county at the junction of U.S. Highway 67 and State Highway 349, ten miles west of the Reagan county line. It is in the heart of the Permian Basin and is the oldest town in the county, having been established in 1911. The town, named for early day rancher F. E. Rankin, was founded after Upland, then the county seat and eleven miles north, was missed when the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway was routed south instead of following the Butterfield Overland Mail route along Centralia Draw to the north. Rankin received a post office in 1912. Most Upland homes and businesses were moved to the new railroad town of Rankin, but it was not designated county seat until March 20, 1921. Rankin remained a small ranching community until the mid-1920s, when oil was discovered in the surrounding area. Santa Rita, McCamey and Yates fields opened up and the population soared. It was estimated at 1,500 in 1928. During this boom period, electric, telephone, and water systems were enlarged. Two forty-six room hotels, an $80,000 brick school building, a courthouse, and a two-story office building were erected. A bank was established, and a weekly newspaper, the Upton County Journal , started publication. The city was incorporated in 1928. When no oil was discovered close to Rankin, people left and the boom was over. By 1931 the population had dropped to 935. The Great Depression took its toll, and in 1940 the population had dropped to 672. In the late 1940s the Benedum field north of town came in, and the economy was again on the upswing. This boom period brought a hospital, a community building, three new school buildings, a country club, and a library. The population doubled by the 1950s to 1,132. Rankin remained stable with a total of 1,121 residents and thirty listed businesses in 1970 and 1,278 residents and twenty-four businesses in 1980. In the 1990s the city had six churches, four parks, a nine-hole golf course, a swimming pool, and a roping arena, and the Yates Hotel housed the Rankin Museum. The area had pecan orchards and irrigated farms, but oil, sheep, and cattle continued to be the base of the economy. The population in 1990 was 1,011. In 2000 the population was 800.

County named for Texas Confederates (Star and Wreath). Colonel John Cunningham Upton (1828-1862) Born Tennessee. Came to Texas 1859. Raised company outbreak of Civil War. Attached to 5th Texas Infantry, Hood's famed Texas Brigade, fighting in the campaigns in and around Virginia. Rose to Lt. Colonel of his regiment. The day before his death at the Battle of Second Manassas, led charge upon the enemy rear guard which was a seldom seen, yet brilliantly executed move. Colonel William F. Upton (1832-1887) Born Tennessee. Came to Texas 1853. When Civil War broke, enlisted Texas state troops mustered in for Texas frontier protection. He served in various military units in Texas, helping to successfully guard the 2000 miles of frontier and coastline open to Union or Indian attack. Promoted to Lt. Colonel of Mann's regiment, stationed in Galveston area along with other Texas troops to prevent expected mass Union invasion in 1865. Member of State Legislature 1866, 1876-82.

Castle Gap is a pass through the Castle Mountains, whose rimrock suggests the parapets of a castle, between Crane and McCamey at the edge of the Edwards Plateau in extreme western Upton County (at 31°18' N, 102°17' W). The gap is a mile long and only yards wide at its narrowest point. It lies 421 feet below the summits of Castle Mountain to the north and King Mountain to the south, each of which rises to an elevation of 3,141 feet. The pass opens westward to the arid lowlands of the Pecos valley and toward Horsehead Crossing, twelve miles west-southwest. Geologically, Castle Gap originated 135 million years ago as marine limestone deposits that eventually resulted in a great mesa subsequently split by erosion. In prehistoric times the gap was a natural gateway to and from crossings on the Pecos River for Indian nomads seeking buffalo on the Edwards Plateau or salt at Juan Cordona Lake, fifteen miles westward. Springs at the gap later prompted Comanches to name it Weick Pah, "Gap-Water." Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca describes a river flowing north to south with thirty leagues of plain on the west and an eastern ridge, identical to the topography of the Pecos River adjacent to Castle Gap. This fact suggests he may have passed through the break in 1535, when he traveled from the Texas coast to settlements in Mexico. In the fall of 1760 forty-one Spaniards dispatched by Capt. Felipe Rábago y Terán likely passed through Castle Gap in scouting a route from the presidio at the site of present-day Menard to Santa Fe. With the advent of the Comanche War Trail by 1800, Comanches, Kiowas, Rocky Mountain Utahs, and Plains Apaches used Castle Gap as a route to and from their raiding grounds in Mexico. Dr. Henry Connelly became one of the first English-speaking men to pass through the gap when he and a guard of fifty dragoons freighted seven wagons of bullion from Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, to an army post in what is now Oklahoma in 1839. By the late 1840s California-bound prospectors had established a wagon route from the confluence of the branches of the Concho in what is now Tom Green County up the Middle Concho to its head and across sixty-two miles of desert to Castle Gap. The necessity of surveying the region brought several parties to Castle Gap in 1849 and 1850, including those of John S. (Rip) Ford and Maj. Robert S. Neighbors in April 1849, Bvt. 1st Lt. Francis T. Bryan in July 1849, and John Russell Bartlett in October 1850. From 1858 to 1861 Butterfield Overland Mail stages passed through the gap twice a week on their 2,795-mile, twenty-five-day trips between Tipton, Missouri, and San Francisco. The first stage traversed the pass on the night of September 25, 1858, en route to fresh mules at Horsehead Crossing. Butterfield soon constructed a two-story stage station of native rock at the gap's west end, where a spring supplied the needs of attendants and stage teams. In an 1869 sketch, Col. Thomas B. Hunt pictured the station as two structures lying immediately south of the road. In 1864 William A. Peril drove the first cattle herd of any size through Castle Gap en route from the Hill Country to Chihuahua. The most noteworthy drive occurred in the spring of 1866, when Charles Goodnight , Oliver Loving , and eighteen men trailed 2,000 longhorn steers and breeding cows to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, from the Brazos in North Texas by way of the Middle Concho and Castle Gap. The drive opened up the Goodnight-Loving Trail for hundreds of succeeding drovers, who used the route as a springboard to push cattle as far north as Montana. In the 1860s and 1870s Castle Gap was the frequent site of raids on cattle herds by Indians, who used the cattle as barter with Comancheros in New Mexico. Because of this, alternate routes were employed as early as 1859. The railroad subsequently bypassed the gap to the south, and erosion destroyed the wagon road. Castle Gap was closed as a practical route between 1910 and 1920. Treasure hunters still frequent t