Homesite of Mrs. Robert Massie (1867-1931)

The fortune behind the scholarships came from sheep. Robert Massie left Scotland as a youth, went on to Canada, and in 1883 took a job on a West Texas sheep ranch. He later ran his own flocks on a Crockett County ranch and helped found the Wool Growers Central Storage Company of San Angelo in 1909, serving as its president until his death. He sat on the boards of banks in San Angelo and Ozona, and his seventy-section ranch between Ozona and Barnhart was counted a model of its day. He died on June 10, 1931.

What the plaque says

Homesite of Mrs. Robert Massie (1867-1931) A dedicated member of the Methodist Church and a gifted teacher, Mrs. Massie was a humanitarian who worked to further education throughout her life. The former Mary Lee Payne, Mrs. Massie was born in Weimar, one of four children she grew up under the stress of pioneer life and worked, in various towns, as a teacher, post master and sales lady. Although her education was interrupted when her wardrobe was lost in fording a river, she later attended Buffalo Gap College. In 1899 she married Robert Massie. Massie, born in Scotland, came to this country as a youth. From a sheep herder's job, he advanced to a leading place in the sheep and wool Industry, making a fortune in this and other varied businesses. Mary and Robert Massie reared an adopted daughter, 3 of their young nephews, and a niece. Mrs. Massie resumed public and Sunday school teaching, taking a special interest in the junior department of the Methodist church in this city. Following their deaths in 1931, Mrs. Massie's will gave a large portion of the estate to the benefit of youth. The Massie Memorial Foundation has, since 1932, provided over 2,000 student scholarships. Until 1960 the Massie home stood at this site. (1968)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Concho River Walk — 0.2 mi
  Four miles of lit trails along the North Concho through downtown San Angelo, rebuilt after voters taxed themselves in 2004, with gardens, sculpture, a river stage and stocked trout.
• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts — 0.6 mi
  A free art museum on the Concho beside Fort Concho, founded in the fort's 1868 quartermaster building and known nationally for its biennial ceramics competition.
• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark — 0.7 mi
  The stone post at the forks of the Concho, headquarters of the Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882, saved by a woman with a museum and now a city-run landmark of 23 original buildings.
• Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum — 0.7 mi
  The upstairs rooms on Concho Avenue where a brothel ran from 1902 until the Texas Rangers closed it in 1952, shown on short guided tours with most of the furnishings original.

More markers nearby

• Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church — 0.3 mi
• The Tenth Cavalry — 0.7 mi
• Fort Concho — 0.7 mi
• John Yellott Rust — 0.7 mi