Cresswell Ranch

Cresswell Ranch (or Bar CC) Ranch was established in 1877 by the Cresswell Land and Cattle Company of Colorado. This syndicate was formed when O. H. P. Baxter and the brothers J. A. and M. D. Thatcher, owners of bank stocks, mines, and farms, decided to back Henry Cresswell, who was enthusiastic about building up a ranch in the Panhandle of Texas.

Many early Panhandle ranchers had their beginning as foremen or ranch hands with the Bar CC, including O.R. McMordie, W.J. Todd and E.H. Brainard. As time passed, the Bar CC encountered hard times. Around 1885, a syndicate, composed of these English investors along with the old cattle company, was formed and called the Cresswell Ranch and Cattle Company. It bought the ranch for $1.5 million, and Cresswell retained $20,000 interest.

In January 1894 the BAR C post office was established at the ranch headquarters with Laura Todd as postmistress. By 1895 the Cresswell Company had more than 25,000 cattle, including purebred shorthorn and Hereford bulls, and 300 saddle horses. However, fluctuating cattle prices and pressures of settlers caused the company to decline.

Around 1900 it closed its operations and divided the ranch. Snyder and Sears of Kansas City bought the last of the original Bar CC herd. The brand, made with two irons, was used until 1937 by the ranch of Mrs. John Jones and her son-in-law, F. C. McMordie, located on Home Ranch Creek, the site of Creswell’s first headquarters.