Lubbock Pride: The National Ranching Heritage Center

In the heart of Lubbock, Texas, is the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University. Founded by the Ranchers Heritage Association in 1969, the 27.5 acre park and museum was dedicated on July 2, 1976 to celebrate and preserve the history and heritage of ranching, pioneer settlers and homesteading, and the development and growth of the livestock industry in North America. Visitors to the Center can enjoy a walk through the Foy Proctor Park (named after famed local rancher) that celebrates pioneer history and tour nearly four dozen historic buildings and structures, including the Ropes, Texas, train station, the hometown of Western Writers Hall of Fame author Max Evans. The Museum’s exhibitions include the J.J. Memorial Park with 18-life size longhorn statues in front of the Center, “Across Time and Territory: The NRHC Story,” “The Writers of the Purple Sage” in the McCombs Main Gallery, “Lever Action Rifles” in the Flores Gallery, and “Saddling Up,” an exhibition of historic saddles on loan from the Cattle Raiser’s Museum in Fort Worth in the McKanna Gallery. Writers and historians should plan extra time to visit the Center’s Burk Burnett Library and Reading Room and discover the depth of the library’s book and periodical collection on Western settlement, ranching and livestock history.