U Lazy S Ranch

The U Lazy S Ranch, formerly known as the Square and Compass Ranch, is a historic ranch in Garza County, Texas, USA.

U Lazy S Carriage House, now at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas.

History

The ranch was established as the Square and Compass Ranch in 1884.[1][2]

By 1901, when it was acquired by John Bunyan Slaughter, the ranch spanned 99,188 acres.[2][3] Slaughter also purchased 5,000 cattle and brought 6,000 head of cattle he already owned.[3] Additionally, he changed the name to his cattle brand, 'U Lazy S', which he had registered during the American Civil War.[4] He built a ranchhouse in 1902 and acquired more acres, owning up to 126,227 acres a few years later.[2][4] In 1906, he sold 50,000 acres to C. W. Post, who founded the new town of Post, Texas.[3][4]

In 1928, the ranch was inherited by Slaughter's son, John B. Slaughter, Jr., who was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University.[5] According to historian William Curry Holden, "By 1936, 8,000 Hereford cattle grazed 100,000 acres of U Lazy S land."[4] The ranchhouse, a designated Texas landmark, burned down on January 13, 1936.[6][7][8]

The ranch was inherited by his nephew, John F. Lott and his niece, Mary Belle Lott Macy, in 1940.[4] Lott split some of the acreage into farms.[4] In 1949, Lott started flying an airplane to drive the cattle and spray herbicide.[4]

In the 1950s, the land was faced with a draught.[9] By 1954, Lott planted 1,400 acres of guar to improve the land.[10] He was also the first Texas rancher to use a roto-pitter to break up the rangeland.[11] Two years later, in 1956, Lott's range improvement program had worked.[9]

In 1965, Macy split her section of the ranch and renamed it the Running M Ranch.[4] Meanwhile, the U Lazy S Ranch was managed by Lott's son, Jack Lott.[4] By 1966, the ranch spanned 90,000 acres.[3]

In October 1968, Lott and his wife hosted François Tombalbaye, the President of Chad, on his official visit to Texas.[12] A year later, in 1969, they donated a carriage house from the ranch and US$10,000 to the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas.[3][13] In 1973, a fundraiser for the public library in Post, Texas was held on the ranch.[14]

References
  1. Holden, William Curry (June 15, 2010). "Square and Compass Ranch". Handbook of Texas (online ed.). Texas State Historical Association.
  2. Laine, Tanner (June 15, 2000). "U Lazy S Ranch left indelible mark on history of South Plains tackles massive chore". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  3. "Texas Ranch Museum Gains Another Structure". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. November 9, 1969. p. 50. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Holden, William Curry (June 15, 2010). "U Lazy S Ranch". Handbook of Texas (online ed.). Texas State Historical Association.
  5. "College Bred Rancher Undaunted As He 'Rides Out' the Depression". Miami Daily News-Record. Miami, Oklahoma. October 16, 1932. p. 13. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Landmark of Old West Is Razed by Fire Near Post: 20-Room Lazy-U Ranch House Burns on John B. Slaughter Estate; Was Famous for Size". The Waco News-Tribune. Waco, Texas. January 14, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Beautiful U Lazy S Home Destroyed: Old Landmark Near Post, Headquarters of John B. Slaughter Estate, Burns Today". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. January 14, 1936. pp. 6, 9. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "January". Abilene Reporter-News. Abilene, Texas. January 1, 1937. p. 7. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Range Improvement Program Of U Lazy S Ranch Shows Success". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. May 6, 1956. p. 75. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "U Lazy S Ranch Farms At Post Growing 1,400 Acres Of Guar In Rotation Plan". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. August 29, 1954. p. 50. Retrieved January 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Post Range Pitting Underway With New Type Rotary Machine". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. July 17, 1955. p. 56. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Area Leaders Fete Chad President With Whirlwind Day Of Activities". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. October 6, 1968. p. 14. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Ranching Heritage Center is unique". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, Texas. September 9, 1983. p. 6. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Annual Benefit Branding Set Saturday Near Post". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock, Texas. April 4, 1973. p. 79. Retrieved January 3, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

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