Through the Centuries at Fort Concho
By Robert Bluthardt
Director, Fort Concho National Historic Landmark
Published November 2010
To the first-time visitor, Fort Concho presents a commanding appearance—a large Parade Ground with a center flagpole surrounded by several rows of 1800s buildings, all restored to their military exteriors. Little of the current century intrudes, as power poles, city streets and other modern distractions have mostly been removed or hidden. Perhaps, thinks the visitor, it was always this way, but many long-time residents know, “it was not always thus.”
Built and operated between 1867 and 1889, Fort Concho was never meant to be permanent. The U. S. Army built, relocated, and abandoned forts across the west as quickly as the frontier moved. Many forts crumbled into ruins; a few were stripped of their valued building materials; and some survived in very changed fashions.
What saved Fort Concho was both an accident of its limestone construction and the development of a viable community across the river. These well built structures offered San Angelo citizens new homes and commercial locations at the close of the 19th century. By the early 1900s, the fort anchored what was called the “Fort Concho Addition,” and the old post settled into nearly 40 years of semi-retirement.
Amazingly, local folks made some efforts as early as 1905 to save the place as a monument to the pioneer past, as former post trader J. L. Millspaugh suggested that the city could buy the entire site for $15,000. A dollar bought more in those days, and 15,000 of them was far beyond the newly incorporated city’s budget. In 1913, the Santa Fe Railroad gave the eastern third of the parade ground to the city, and for a century that parcel has remained clear of any new buildings or distractions. Meanwhile, in 1923, the Daughters of
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2010 Photo Contest Winners
Published September & October 2010
The winners and all participants in our annual photo contest enjoy seeing their photos used in covers and advertisements throughout the year, and we appreciate their creative efforts. On the cover of this magazine we feature the first place winner in this year’s People category, a composition by Emma Leigh Coffman of Temple, Texas. Photos were judged by two professional photographers this year— Jim Bean of Jim Bean Professional Photography and Tom Clemens of The Photo Studio, both headquartered in San Angelo, Texas. Entries were judged on a point system, rated by these two talented photographers and by our magazine staff. Photos were viewed by the judges on a computer monitor, one by one. Prints were scanned and viewed on the montor as well. Judges were blind as to who took the photos. They were judged on composition, technical ability of the photographer and artistic merit. For the September magazine, the winners of the People category and the Rural Life and Landscape category are featured on these pages. In October we’ll show the winners of the Youth and Animals and Nature categories. Thanks again to the photographers. We appreciate your effort and talent. In future months watch for other photos featured on the cover and in the Hometown Banks ad as well as in other articles and ads.
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Exotic Hoofstock
Year-Round Hunting Means Extra Ranch Income
But Handling and Management Require EffortBy Chester Sanders
Published September 2010 The morning mist is clearing the rim-rock and the cold brisk wind in my face is hardly noticeable. Looking for a flash of color, sillhouete or any movement that would quiet my opening day jitters of this mule-deer season, I cant help but be awed as I take in the scenery below,
 “Ka-Bloom, thud” the crack of a rifle and the distinctive sound of the bullet finding its target rings out to my right about 300 yards. I quickly put my rifle up and scope my kill sector for any escaped quarry from the lucky devils to the right of me, anxiously awaiting any sign of movement or sound that would allow me an opportunity for a shot. A few minutes later I pack up and head for the other hunters to see what they have downed,
”Hey that doesn’t look like any mule-deer I’ve ever seen,” I say.
“Its an aoudad,” my father yells out too me.
“A who-dad?” I yell back. An aoudad, it turns out is a big horn sheep from the barbary region of North Africa. It was introduced to the United States in the 1950s when some ranchers from New Mexico decided to augment their hunting wildlife with hopes of bringing in revenue for the state. They thrive in our dry climate and are very adaptable to most regions with rugged terrain and cliffs or rock outcrops.
There is no season on them in West Texas. In the northern Panhandle they have proliferated to the point where a season has been put on them so they can manage them. They are very competitive at feeders and could probably cause a rift in native eco-system if left unchecked.
This was my first experience with exotic game other than seeing them on ranches off the highway, or at a zoo. This poses another question, how many different types of exotics are there in Texas and where can they be found?
I visited with several exotic game ranchers in Central and West Texas to get their input on the welfare and state of exotic wildlife ranching in Texas—Gary Ploch, Ranch Manager of the Patio Ranch in Hunt; Terry Caffey of the Caffey Bar 6 Game Ranch in Eden; Dan Whiteley, head foreman of the Heart of the Lonestar Ranch at Eden; and Chase Akin who operates a successful exotic game ranch near Christoval and a helicopter wildlife capture business.
The Patio Ranch holds the distinguished honor of being the first Exotic Game Ranch in Texas. Established in the 1930s by Richard Friedrich, a businessman in San Antonio. He served as President of the San Antonio Zoological Society, and had a keen interest in wildlife. He purchased several species of exotics from the San Antonio Zoo as they had surplus animals and after high fencing a part of his ranch, an industry that still thrives today was born. The ranch has changed hands many times and is currently owned and operated by the H.E Sturmberg family.
Gary Ploch, ranch manager, says Patio Ranch offers a different hunting experience.
Their hunts can range from one-day hunts to an extended hunting expedition with top chefs who will cook an exquisite meal, top of the line accommodations in the hunting lodge and experienced guides. Ploch says Patio Ranch emphasizes being good stewards of the land, treating the animals with respect and dignity and educating their visitors about the animals.
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Herefords Produce Quality Commercial Cattle
By Gary Cutrer
& Chester Sanders
Published August 2010
What better, more picturesque ranch scene could there be than a wide pasture green from the summer rains, bordered by dusky liveoaks—a field dotted with red, white-faced Hereford cattle grazing serenely? When Texas cattlemen see a verdant pasture scene like that they see green all right, the green of profits that come from a productive beef animal that has been one of the mainstays of agriculture in the United States for more than 100 years.
Among the most popular cattle breeds in Texas, the Hereford is known for its adaptability and hardiness, its survivability, mothering instinct and ability, and handling ease due to good disposition, along with many other advantageous traits, chief among them the breed’s ability to convert forage and feedlot rations into quality beef.
In recent years with the growing popularity of another English breed, the Angus, and the heat and humidity tolerant Brahman, the Hereford bull has become an extremely valuable and sought after sire to produce F1 crosses on those breeds to produce cattle that sell at auction for consistently solid prices. You can like Angus, you can like Hereford, you can prefer a continental breed or an American original like the Beefmaster, but the bottom line is the bottom line. And Herefords have proven and continue to prove their ability to make money for the producer.
We contacted four reputation Hereford breeders in West Texas for their input on the state of the Hereford breed--Case Ranch Herefords in Eldorado, Texas; Dudley Bros. Herefords, Comanche, Texas; James L. Powell, Six Mile Ranch, Fort McKavett, Texas; and Rocking Chair Ranch, San Angelo and Fort McKavett, Texas.
Case Ranch Herefords
In 1941, when the breed was advertised as the “King of the Range,” the Case family entered into the registered Hereford business. P.F. Case and his son Fred operated the family’s Eldorado, Texas, ranch, establishing a fullblood herd. P.F. Case passed away in 1961, but since then Fred has continued the operation, now along with son and partner Pete. They’ve seen their registered Herefords go into 40 states, Canada and Mexico, and Case Herefords are recognized as a prime source of quality stock.
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Protecting Private Property Locally
By Dan Byfield Published May 2010
In 2007, five courageous mayors in eastern Bell County, Texas formed the very first sub-regional planning commission utilizing Section 391 of the Texas Local Government Code as their basis to fight and stop the Tran-Texas Corridor through their five school districts.
It worked and now, the entire TTC project is flickering out like a shooting star.
That’s the real story behind the demise of the TTC. Through a strategy only promoted by American Stewards of Liberty, a non-profit private property rights organization located in Taylor, Texas, those five mayors initiated a process that today is revitalizing and protecting the rights of citizens in our State through an effective local control process called Coordination.
Coordination is a simple word with an extraordinarily powerful legal meaning found in both federal and state statutes that requires government agencies to “coordinate” with local government in developing and implementing plans, policies and management actions.
American Stewards showed the five mayors where the important language was found in the Texas Local Government Code and they immediately formed a planning commission to take advantage of the coordination strategy. The first meeting they called was with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT) to begin “coordinating” their state plans to build the Trans-Texas Corridor through their jurisdiction.
TxDoT was not prepared for what happened next. The five mayors, through the Eastern Central Texas Sub-Regional Planning Commission, adopted a policy that stated “No Trans-Texas Corridor shall be allowed through our jurisdiction.” From that point, they demanded TxDoT begin coordinating their plans with their policy. It was that simple.
Through the three coordination meetings that followed with TxDoT, the mayors discovered that TxDoT had not followed the federal environmental statutes properly. So, they began demanding the federal agencies in charge of enforcing the federal laws force TxDoT to follow the law. Naturally, TxDoT resisted, but the more they resisted, the more the five mayors pushed back.
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What saved Fort Concho was both an accident of its limestone construction and the development of a viable community across the river. These well built structures offered San Angelo citizens new homes and commercial locations at the close of the 19th century. By the early 1900s, the fort anchored what was called the “Fort Concho Addition,” and the old post settled into nearly 40 years of semi-retirement.
