Lambshead and Albany

The visit to west Texas was to introduce my niece O., to Albany, Texas and nearby Lambshead Ranch. Lambshead is an historic ranch formed from the combining of several homesteads through strategic marriages of settlers when Texas was a territory of the United States (a political category which has never ended, one might venture). It has remained with these families uninterrupted since that time. This is my husband's family. He and 250 or so cousins are shareholders of the corporation now guiding the ranch. Lambshead has been a working cattle ranch since its formation, quite a rarity these days. It is situated in Throckmorton and Shackleford counties, and encompasses part of the Clear Fork of the Brazos River along its northern border. Eight years ago some clever baby-boomer family members decided to attempt to recreate the ranch experience they had mid-century. They began a venture called Camp Lambshead to the great delight of many shareholders and a few lucky guests. As the camp is quite hands-on, feet-on, and saddle-on, it was necessary for me to recover from recent health setbacks before I attempted to bring O. along. Which I worked hard to do happily in anticipation of the wonderful payoff. On June 24 my sister and O's dad entrusted her with me. I brought her to Nashville to pack our suitcases for seven days of rough riding, then on June 26 we set out on our adventure via air and car. There was an additional five hour car ride (including grocery and fishing pole stops) to get to our destination, Albany, Texas making our total travel time well over twelve hours. O. was very wise to rest up for the excitement to come! We arrived in Albany just in time to catch the tail-end of the Fort Griffin Fandangle Parade. I hope you take some time to check out the Fort Griffin Fandangle website. The Fandangle is so intertwined with the history and being of the town and its surrounds that you will learn much more about the beauty of the landscape and the residents than I could convey to you. The parade is open to all who want to participate, as is the show itself. Enjoy! After the parade we high-tailed out to Lambshead just in time to catch the real show at sunset. Further reading about Lambshead: Matthews, Sallie Reynolds. Interwoven. University of Texas Press: Austin and London, 1936. Various authors. Interwoven Family Memories. Bright Sky Press, Box 416, Albany, Texas, 76430, 2007. Wilson, Laura. Watt Matthews of Lambshead. The Texas State Historical Association, Austin, Texas, 1989.