{"nrhp_refnum":"11000134","name":"deBerry Ranch","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Private Rd 1105, approximately 1.5 mi e of CR 108","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sonora","county":"Sutton County","state":"TX","lat":30.62599369700007,"lon":-100.69232802248234,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-03-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Economics"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ranch district of 59.5 acres within the 5,623-acre deBerry Ranch, about eight miles northwest of Sonora in Sutton County, Texas, built 1939-40 for Dr. Ellett M. deBerry. It includes a limestone ranch house, outbuildings, windmills, cisterns and the historic Wall's Well.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the complex as a well-preserved example of a mid-century West Texas ranch headquarters. The limestone ranch-style house, designed by San Angelo architect Leonard R. Mauldin, shows rustic regional design reminiscent of Depression-era WPA and CCC work. The property also reflects Sutton County's sheep, goat and cattle ranching and the later impact of drought and gas production.","narrative":"Dr. Ellett M. deBerry, a psychiatrist who left Minnesota for Texas, bought ranch land northwest of Sonora in 1939 and built a headquarters on the Edwards Plateau. The nominated district covers 59.5 acres of the larger 5,623-acre ranch. Its centerpiece is a sprawling one-story ranch house, about 170 feet long, faced in random-course limestone and designed by San Angelo architect Leonard R. Mauldin. Around it are a guest house, garage, workers' house, barbecue pit, a raised circular swimming pool that doubled as a water tank, windmills, and elevated wooden cisterns. The rustic stonework echoes Depression-era WPA and CCC buildings. Nearby lies Wall's Well, a water hole shown on maps as early as 1887. DeBerry raised sheep, goats and cattle until 1950s drought forced him to sell his livestock, and a gas well was drilled in 1954. The property remains in family hands and retains a high degree of integrity.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Leonard R. Mauldin (San Angelo architect)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Ranch Style; No Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still owned and managed by family members and reserved for their personal use; the house, auxiliary structures and well retain a high degree of integrity. The workers' house also houses the ranch caretaker.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.192651-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/9733/40973386/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/11000134.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973386","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999865"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/sutton-county/deberry-ranch-11000134/"}