Correspondence,
diaries, minutes, proceedings, printed material, financial documents, legal
documents, photographic & audio material, maps, charts, graphs, and
lists in the Mariposa collection (32 linear feet) chronicle the history
of La Hacienda de la Mariposa and document the hard work and political
savvy of the McKellars as they tried to balance the economic and business
necessities of running a ranch with the political realities of the Mexican
Revolution and land reform. The Mariposa Ranch Collection was donated by
Alden Scott Mckellar of Manitou Springs, Colorado in September 1990.
The Mariposa Ranch Collection has three basic record series: personal correspondence,
business correspondence, and diary.
The personal correspondence contains over 900 letters covering the dates
from 1902 to 1957 between the Learmonth brothers and Ernest Black and between
the Learmonth brothers and D. S. McKellar. These letters detail earnings,
business analyses, ranch operations and expenses, literate expositions
on local as well as national Mexican politics. There is also a handwritten
bound volume of letters from E. Black to the Learmonth brothers in Australia
dated December 29, 1902 to September 30, 1907.
The business correspondence contains approximately 15,000 letters dated
from 1903 to 1955. These letters document activities relating to every
facet of ranch operations such as ordering supplies, cattle sales. Much
of this correspondence is with factors in Texas, Missouri, New Mexico as
well as local factors in Musquiz, Coahuila. In this series, there are also
11 handwritten bound volumes of outgoing correspondence from the Mariopsa
ranch by Stanley Learmonth , James Allen Learmonth, and Earnest Black dated
from 1890 to 1918.
A total of 22 bound volumes of diaries recording the daily activities of
the Mariposa ranch. A very complete daily rehearsal of weather conditions,
rainfall, ranch and family activities, visitors, (including Sterling C.
Evans in the 1920's and Charles Lindbergh). Each volume is handwritten
and carefully dated.
In addition, there are numerous maps, plats, organizational documents,
contracts, Mexican political tracts as well as the organizational charter
handwritten on vellum. An interview with Alden Scott Mckellar and photographic
materials fill in some of the gaps in the papers and the family history
not reflected in the papers. 545 bb $a La Mariposa was situated in the
state of Coahuila, District of Monclova, 27 miles north of Musquiz, 50
miles southwest of Sabinas and 90 miles from Eagle Pass, Texas.
With capital backing from the Learmonth family, a Scottish entrepreneur
in Australia, Mr. David Harkness McKellar, an emigrant from Australia and
New Zealand in the late 1880's, purchased over 250,000 acres in Coahuila
and founded La Mariposa Ranch in 1890.
The ranch sat in an open valley formed by a fork of the Santa Rosa Mountains
which marked the western and northern boundaries and protected it from
the cold north winds in winter. These mountains yielded from its canyons
an almost inexhaustible supply of cedar and oak timber for fencing and
building purposes. The eastern boundary faced the open plains country.
The southern boundary was originally marked by the Sabinas River, a beautiful
clear mountain river, ever-flowing and fringed by large cypress trees.
Well stocked with fish, it was not only a place of recreation, but also
provided a pleasant change of diet. In later years, after the expropriation
of 10,000 acres of land by the government, the boundary was moved further
north.
Pastures were traversed by creek beds, called arroyos, which provided additional
watering areas for the cattle. There were ten natural springs, nine being
ordinary water and the other a mineral water spring. Soil on the southern
half was a good red chocolate and the northern half a combination of sandy
loam and a black, friable earth.
Grasses and forage plants thrived exceptionally well in this region, growing
much taller than in Colorado or southern Texas. The stony soil helped preserve
the moisture at the root of the plants. The nutritious Gramma grass, well
known among ranchers, was abundant in the area. Bermuda, mesquite, sotol,
palmetto and guajillo grew wild in the area and were much sought after
by the stock. The nopal, or prickly pear cactus, grew abundantly in the
canyons.
At an altitude of 1800 to 2500 feet, the ranch enjoyed a semi-tropical
climate with 23 inches average annual rainfall. Thus it was a pleasant
residence both winter and summer.
The ranch was sold in the early 1960's by Alden Scott McKellar, a grandson
of its founder, David Harkness McKellar.
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