OS Ranch & Museum

The Ranch Headquarters in 1898

Introduction

    There are many ranches around this part of the country. Well Post, Texas has a ranch that is just extraordinary, and if your a fan of historical sites you should pay a visit to the OS Ranch. The history behind this ranch and the artifacts at the ranch are very fascinating.

History

   The OS Ranch was founded around 1884 by two Long brothers, Andrew J. and Frank M. Long of Lexington, Kentucky. As they were making their way down to Texas, they bought all Richard Overall's cattle, which in fact started the OS brand. But they also brought two hundred and two of their own cattle. Once realizing that the cows had their own brand, they decided to adopt the brand name as their own. The ranch started out with around 100,000 acres. But later the ranch was sold to W.E. Connell, E.W. Clark, and Scott Scarborough. During that time they sold half of their land to Charles W. Post to build his city, which is now Post, Texas. About 10 years later W.E. Connell bought out the ranch and became the only owner.

The Ranch Today

    Today the ranch is owned by the Connell grandchildren and is still live and kicking` with 21,500 acres of land. You probably might think the ranch would be some kind of museum, but it is still active.  Many tourists do go to the ranch to visit its many historical sites, such as the Native American drawings and fossil sites. One drawing is of a Conquistador Francisco de Coronado drawn by a Native American that was watching him travel through Garza Country. And all this is only 14- 15 miles give and take a few. Also they began a Steer Roping. They started the Steer Roping in 1971 to help raise money for the West Texas Boys' Ranch.  Later Tom Ryan, a member of the Cowboy Artists of America, suggested that they should add an additional event, an Art Sale.  The tourists were drawn from all over the world, for the next 12 years, just to see the amazing art work from the country's top Western Artist and Cowboys.

In The Future

    In the future, the OS Ranch hopes to bring more tourist to Post, Texas with the Steer Roping.  They are also trying to restore the ranch back to its original conditions, which is going to be a wonderful thing!

The Museum

Who could forget about the OS ranch museum? This museum is one of the most fascinating museum I think I have every been in. It really has nothing to do with the OS ranch but has some really neat sculptures and pictures. The exhibits at the OS ranch change about 3 times yearly, so it should never get boring. The OS Ranch Foundation was created by Giles C. McCrary and family. The museum was built to house the art and artifact collection they have gathered around the world. The gallery is located in the room that was designed as the meeting room for the community, here in the building C.W. Post built in 1911, to house the offices of his Land and Cattle Company. The OS Ranch Museum is located on 201 East Main Street.

              OS Ranch Brand