The Historic LS

(Headquarters 3 miles southeast) Great early ranch well known to badman Billy the Kid and other famed western characters. The LS was founded in 1870s by former Indian Territory trader W. M. D. Lee and New York financier Lucien Scott. Through Lee's efforts, the LS had water and grass for over 100,000 cattle and sometimes drove 6 or 7 herds a year up the trail. When thefts followed Billy the Kid's visits, LS men rode west and brought back their cattle; and when Tascosa gunfights put men into Boot Hill graves, the LS escaped disaster. But drouth brought heavy losses in 1886; and grant of 3,000,000 acres of panhandle lands to the XIT (State of Texas' payment for constructing Capitol in Austin) cut old LS range in half. Lee left in 1890 to promote a ship canal in Houston. Scott died 1893. W. H. Gray and E. F. Swift of Chicago bought LS in 1905. Memorable LS men included foreman J. E. McAlister, later a Channing merchant. One of the $25-a-month cowboys was E. L. Doheny, later a multi-millionaire oil man involved in 1920's Teapot Dome scandal. Ownership of brand and 96,000 acres of LS range passed to Col. C. T. Herring, rancher and civic leader of Amarillo; his estate still operates it. (1968)

The Historic LS is a historical marker in Boys Ranch, Oldham County, dedicated in 1968. It is one of 10 historical markers documented in Oldham County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 12 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 35.5345, -102.2667 near Boys Ranch. The nearest cataloged historic site is Old Tascosa (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Oldham County, Boot Hill Cemetery, and Tascosa Courthouse, 1884.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5359005352. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.