John L. Jones Ranch

Jones's ranching years saw the county's economy shift. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of farms and ranches fell slightly to 217 and cattle to about 34,700, while sheep dropped sharply from 120,574 to 12,543. More land went under the plow, with more than 740 acres of cotton by 1900, when the population reached 2,503. By 1910 the county had 415 farms and ranches, almost 3,000 acres of cotton and 3,261 people. Goats, introduced around the turn of the century, numbered almost 159,700 by 1920.

What the plaque says

John L. Jones Ranch Established about 1875 by Jim Ike and John L. Jones (1852-1912). John Jones drove thousands of cattle to Kansas railheads, and by 1885 had his brother's interest in the ranch, which he increased to 25,000 acres. Originally he ran large herds of cattle, but later added sheep and goats to his ranch. He built a stone drift fence, possibly first in county; portions of this still stand. He was persuaded by friends to run for sheriff in 1896, to help rid the county of rustlers; he completed the job in one term. Descendants own much of this original ranch property today. (1973)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Eckert James River Bat Cave Preserve — 13 mi
  A limestone cave on the James River where about four million Mexican free-tailed bats raise their young each summer, kept open to visitors by a family's gift.
• Kimble County Historical Museum — 14 mi
  A free county museum in Junction, the town at the meeting of the North and South Llano, with the papers, photographs and tools of a ranching county.
• Fort Mason — 23 mi
  A reconstructed officers' quarters on Post Oak Hill above Mason, standing where the army's stone fort was taken apart by the town that grew up below it.
• Presidio de San Saba — 28 mi
  The ruins of the largest Spanish presidio in Texas, built in 1757 to guard a mission to the Lipan Apache, where the Comanche and their allies first turned back Spain's frontier.

More markers nearby

• Old Beef Trail Crossing — 2.7 mi
• Site of Ivy Chapel and School — 3.0 mi
• London Post Office — 7.2 mi
• London Town Square — 7.4 mi