The ranch was established by David M. DeVitt and John Scharbauer in Hockley County, Texas in 1885.[1][2] The name, "Mallet Ranch", came from a former ranch established by D. P. Atwood on the Texas-Mexican border in the early 1880s.[1] DeVitt and Scharbauer acquired more land in Terry County, Cochran County and Yoakum County.[1]
The main ranchhouse, windmill and "several bunkhouses, sheds, barns, and corrals" were located in Levelland, Texas or Sundown, Texas[3][4][5] six miles north of modern-day Whiteface, Texas.[1]
Lawsuits over ownership of the land were filed against C.C. Slaughter, the owner of several ranches including the Lazy S Ranch, in the early 1900s.[1] The dispute originated from messy leasing claims.[1] By the early 1900s, the Mallet Land and Cattle Company was corporated to ensure ownership.[1]
The ranch was used by DeVitt to raise Hereford cattle from 1904 to 1934.[1] By 1925-1926, DeVitt turned 6,000 acres into cotton fields.[1] It was inherited by DeVitt's daughters Helen and Christine in 1934.[1][2][6] While Helen became a philanthropist in Lubbock, Texas, it was Christine who oversaw the ranch; she also founded the CH Foundation.[2] By the late 1930s, oil was discovered on the ranch.[1] Meanwhile, the Mallet Land and Cattle Company was disestablished for tax purposes in 1944.[1] The ranch headquarters have been "neglected" since 1983, when heiress and philanthropist Christine DeVitt died.[3]
The ranch spanned 45,000 acres in 1990.[1][2] In 2008, the headquarters were on the annual list of Texas' Most Endangered Places published by Preservation Texas, an architectural conservation non-profit organization.[4]
Historical papers about the ranch are held in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University.[2]
