“Thanks to the tremendous support of the local agricultural community and a generous gift from the family, we are close to reaching our fundraising goal. Our steering committee is now looking to the community as a whole for the remaining amount,” explained Jennie Buchanan, chairperson of the Cross S Preservation project.
“Before the recent wind damage to the roof, we had an almost perfect template to use in reconstructing house,” Buchanan said. “Now, we just hope we can reach our fund-raising goal and begin physical work on the dismantling of the old house before any more wind damage occurs.”
The roof is now completely detached from the west side of the house and is sliding down and over the east side. It appears to be held in place by the lightning rod cables. The upper wall on the west side has collapsed inward. The upper wall on the east side is precariously close to collapsing outward.
“These developments are of great concern to us. To mitigate the situation as best we can, we have taken another full set of photographs to guide the stonemasons as they attempt to replace each stone in its original spot,” Buchanan continued.
Plans call for the 116-year-old ranch house to be dismantled, moved, and reconstructed stone-by-stone on the grounds of the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus. The area around the house will be landscaped with native grasses to make the site look as authentic as possible. The house will be used as an interpretative center for the areas early-day ranching history.
“Overall, the building is still intact enough to use it as a positive pattern for reconstruction, but its structural integrity is failing a bit more with every wind storm. This is one of the reasons that we want to move forward as quickly as possible,” Buchanan said. “The other reason is that we believe this would be the perfect gift to the community in celebration of Oklahoma's Centennial. The history of the Cross S is also in many ways a history of southwest Oklahoma told from the vantage point of an old stone ranch house. It's a somewhat familiar story because it's the story of the hold that this land seems to have on its people. We want to make sure that history is both preserved and told.”
The ranch gets its name from a brand that was most likely acquired when a set of cattle branded with the Cross S was purchased. However, the brand hasn't been used in the last sixty or so years and very few people recognize it or the ranch that bears it name. “In fact, I've found that most folks around here simply refer to the rock house as the “ol' Sipes place,” Buchanan explained.
The Cross S Ranch was established as an open-range cattle ranch in 1881. In its golden years, the ranch covered the equivalent of 21 sections of land, stretching from the Red River to the present-day town of Altus. The rock house that served as the ranch headquarters was built late in 1891. Limestone rocks were gathered by the ranch hands from the nearby Creta Hills and brought to the ranch where they were shaped into neat building blocks that formed the walls of the house.
“It's a small structure - only 20 feet by 22 feet - but it's packed full of history. We're in hopes that we'll be able to preserve it for generations to come,” commented Dennis Vernon, president of the Western Trail Historical Society.
The house has been given to the Western Trail Historical Society by Johnnie and Darlene Thomas of Elk City present owners of the land. Through the society's efforts the Cross S has been placed on Preservation Oklahoma's Most Endangered Historic Places list as well as the National Register of Historic Places.
“In order for the preservation of the Cross S to become a reality, we must rely on the participation of community members and their generosity of time, resources, equipment, and talent,” Buchanan said. “If anyone would like more information about the project, they can contact Dennis or me or one of the members of our steering committee.” Steering committee members include Diann McMahan, Rick Holder, Ken Fergeson, Charles Dobbs, F. B. Stephens, and Tom Buchanan.
Contributions for the preservation of the Cross S can be made out to the Western Trail Historical Society. Checks with Cross S Preservation Fund written on the memo line should be mailed to: Museum of the Western Prairie, 1100 Memorial Drive, Altus, OK 73521.
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