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Stampede Mesa

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my6

my6

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Ok. Not anything close to a ghost town but I couldn't think of a more appropriate thread for this question. I spent a good part of Sunday morning researching the history behind the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky". Anyone else ever look into it? I would love to ride to Stampede Mesa which is 18 miles south east of Crosbyton and spend a night or two there. Does anyone from that area have any info on the place?:rider:
 
my6 said:
Ok. Not anything close to a ghost town but I couldn't think of a more appropriate thread for this question. I spent a good part of Sunday morning researching the history behind the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky". Anyone else ever look into it? I would love to ride to Stampede Mesa which is 18 miles south east of Crosbyton and spend a night or two there. Does anyone from that area have any info on the place?:rider:
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My screen name comes from the ghostriders in the sky...It was one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs when I was a kid. It was my CB handle in the 70s too lol....Where is Stampede Mesa????
 
Interesting. Always like the song. And it's part of my Halloween play list for my church's Fall Festival.
 
Well, I have lived in the area for over 40 years, and never heard of it, until I did a quick Google search. 18 miles SE of Crosbyton would put you right around the current day White River Lake.

Wherever it is exactly, I guarantee it is on private land, since 100% of the land around there is big acre cattle ranches. We lease riding land from one one of the biggest ranch owners out there, as previously mentioned, and run the Lonestar Enduro on the property.

The city of Crosbyton has a great little museum right in town. Blanco Canyon was a final camp of Quanah Parker and a site of a major battle between the Comanches and the troops of Reginald MacKenzie.

The city of Crosbyton has free RV spots with hook ups in the city park. Not real scenic, but I see campers parked there all the time. White River Lake has tent camping and RV camping.

We dual sport around there extensively. (see my recent post about the Cowboy Grave). Mostly, I ride real dirt bikes at the LTR lease (was there yesterday).

I see that Stampede Mesa is one of the most haunted spots in Texas. I imagine if you really do find it, then you would get scared all right. Not by a ghost, but by a rancher with a side arm pointed right at you. However, it would be fun just to look for it. That area right off the Caprock formation is a beautiful place to explore. Where the grassland is still native, you can quickly imagine how Quanah Parker and the Comanches managed to hold out as long as they did.
 
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After spending way too much time looking at maps, it appears that White River Lake ( Blanco Canyon Reservoir prior to 1964) is the place. The mesa is the peninsula on the east side of the lake. Got to get back to work.
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Johnf3 said:
Well, I have lived in the area for over 40 years, and never heard of it, until I did a quick Google search. 18 miles SE of Crosbyton would put you right around the current day White River Lake.

Wherever it is exactly, I guarantee it is on private land, since 100% of the land around there is big acre cattle ranches. We lease riding land from one one of the biggest ranch owners out there, as previously mentioned, and run the Lonestar Enduro on the property.

The city of Crosbyton has a great little museum right in town. Blanco Canyon was a final camp of Quanah Parker and a site of a major battle between the Comanches and the troops of Reginald MacKenzie.

The city of Crosbyton has free RV spots with hook ups in the city park. Not real scenic, but I see campers parked there all the time. White River Lake has tent camping and RV camping.

We dual sport around there extensively. (see my recent post about the Cowboy Grave). Mostly, I ride real dirt bikes at the LTR lease (was there yesterday).

I see that Stampede Mesa is one of the most haunted spots in Texas. I imagine if you really do find it, then you would get scared all right. Not by a ghost, but by a rancher with a side arm pointed right at you. However, it would be fun just to look for it. That area right off the Caprock formation is a beautiful place to explore. Where the grassland is still native, you can quickly imagine how Quanah Parker and the Comanches managed to hold out as long as they did.
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In my reading yesterday I did see that it was on private land and I would never go looking for it without the owners approval. You being familiar with the area perhaps you could pinpoint the place on a map for me with what little info I could find on the exact location.

"Stampede Mesa is in Crosby County, Texas, about eighteen miles from the cap rock of Blanco Canyon, wedged up between the forks of Catfish (sometimes called White or Blanco) River. The main stream skirts it on the west; to the south the bluffs of the mesa drop a sheer hundred feet down into McNeil Branch. The two hundred acre top of the mesa is underlaid with rocks that are scarcely covered, by the soil, though grazing is nearly always good. Trail drivers all agree that a better place to hold a herd will never be found. A herd could be watered at the river late in the evening and then be driven up the gentle slope of the mesa and bedded down for the night. In the morning there was water at hand before the drive was resumed. The steep bluffs on the south made a natural barrier so that night guard could be reduced almost half. Nevertheless, few herd bosses of the West would now, if opportunity came, venture to hold their herds on Stampede Mesa. Yet it will never succumb to the plow. Scarred and high, it will stand forever, a monument to the days that are gone, a wild bit of the old West to keep green the legend that has given to it the name ‘Stampede Mesa.’
 
my6 said:
In my reading yesterday I did see that it was on private land and I would never go looking for it without the owners approval. You being familiar with the area perhaps you could pinpoint the place on a map for me with what little info I could find on the exact location.

"Stampede Mesa is in Crosby County, Texas, about eighteen miles from the cap rock of Blanco Canyon, wedged up between the forks of Catfish (sometimes called White or Blanco) River. The main stream skirts it on the west; to the south the bluffs of the mesa drop a sheer hundred feet down into McNeil Branch. The two hundred acre top of the mesa is underlaid with rocks that are scarcely covered, by the soil, though grazing is nearly always good. Trail drivers all agree that a better place to hold a herd will never be found. A herd could be watered at the river late in the evening and then be driven up the gentle slope of the mesa and bedded down for the night. In the morning there was water at hand before the drive was resumed. The steep bluffs on the south made a natural barrier so that night guard could be reduced almost half. Nevertheless, few herd bosses of the West would now, if opportunity came, venture to hold their herds on Stampede Mesa. Yet it will never succumb to the plow. Scarred and high, it will stand forever, a monument to the days that are gone, a wild bit of the old West to keep green the legend that has given to it the name ‘Stampede Mesa.’
Click to expand...

It appears that this area is now part of White River Lake. Your description is very old. None of the creeks or rivers in that area have been running for at least 60 years, thanks to the depletion of the Ogallala aquifer. You can pull the lake up on Google Earth to see exactly what it looks like present day.

Refer to Meriden's most recent post in this thread. I believe what he says is correct.

The entire topography of that land off the Cap is nothing but mesas and canyons, so it is not like the one you are looking for will stand out. I wish I could help you more. It is a great story in an area that has a lot of history. This area was basically the last hold out to the white man's expansion West in Texas. It was a true unsettled frontier until after the Civil War.

Edit: My work productivity has not been good today. The song has been covered dozens of times. This is my favorite version, by The Outlaws.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmpvpypXKf0"]The Outlaws - Ghost Riders in the Sky - YouTube[/ame]
 
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I read several versions of the story and picked over the descriptions of the area as best as I could. I knew the info was old and I looked at a couple of different maps, old and new and did not see a McNeil's branch anywhere. I'm betting the info IS out there, I just need to keep looking.
 
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