Worth Ranch The Big Adventure

Our history

Timeline

From the Wichita peoples to the Ross Fire.

  1. Before 1850s

    Wichita peoples on the plateau

    Wichita peoples camped on the high plateau that is now the parade ground. Supplemental research also notes Caddo connections.

  2. 1850s on

    Settling the Brazos bends

    Pioneers settled the insides of the river's bends, each named for its most prominent family. The camp's bend became known as Chick Bend.

  3. 1876

    The McClures arrive

    Henry Clay and Texas Anna McClure moved from East Texas and bought about 800 acres north of Palo Pinto.

  4. c. 1900

    Hunts around Kyle Mountain

    Cowboys and ranch hands held wolf and fox hunts in the country around Kyle Mountain.

  5. 1922

    Fort Worth troops in Palo Pinto country

    Before Worth Ranch, outdoorsman Joe Taylor was already guiding Fort Worth Scouts into the Palo Pinto hills.

    Two Scouts stand atop a rock outcrop; handwritten caption reads Camp Taylor, Palo Pinto, Texas, Summer 1922.
    "Camp Taylor," Palo Pinto, summer 1922, before Worth Ranch was founded.

  6. 1928

    Dan Beard urges a wilderness camp

    National Scout Commissioner Daniel Carter Beard visited Camp LeRoy Shuman on Lake Worth and encouraged the council to find a true wilderness camp.

    A group of Scouts and leaders posed indoors with Daniel Carter Beard.
    National Scout Commissioner Daniel C. Beard visits Fort Worth Scouts, 1928.

  7. Feb. 19, 1929

    Boy Scout Foundation organized

    Fort Worth leaders formed the Boy Scout Foundation, Fort Worth Area Council, to acquire and hold permanent camp property. The state approved its charter Feb. 25.

  8. Mar. 4, 1929

    First purchase

    Texas Anna McClure sold the original tract of roughly 300 acres to the Foundation for about $4,000.

  9. 1929

    First Scouts on the land

    Scouts camped on the property before the permanent buildings were finished. Joe Taylor became foreman and "Hike Master."

  10. 1929–1930

    Native stone around the parade ground

    Fort Worth business leaders sponsored the stone buildings. Henry McClure hauled rock by horse and wagon, and Clyde A. Penry served as volunteer contractor.

    A native-stone building with a slate roof, framed by oak trees and a rail fence.
    One of the original native-stone buildings, early 1930s.

  11. June 9, 1930

    Worth Ranch opens

    Named for Fort Worth, the camp officially opened June 9 and was dedicated June 15 as the Great Depression deepened. The first council winter camp followed in December.

    Scouts in frontier costume with rifles and a coiled rope at the 1930 dedication.
    Scouts in costume for the dedication event, June 1930.

  12. Early 1930s

    The Worth Ranch Grace travels

    Jerry Fulkerson's Worth Ranch Grace spread nationally as the "Wilderness Grace," reportedly carried by Region Nine executive James P. Fitch, later Philmont's general manager.

  13. 1936

    Cap Kidd and "The Big Adventure"

    Frank "Cap" Kidd became ranger and served 21 years. Camp stationery from this year carries the phrase "The Big Adventure."

    A boy sits on a rustic gate beside a woman in a long coat and a man in a dark suit and hat.
    The Kidd family: Cap, Beryl, and son Jim, c. 1936 (restored composite).

  14. June 23, 1940

    Ranch rededicated

    Worth Ranch was rededicated with major improvements.

  15. 1940–41

    A filtered swimming pool

    John W. Herbert funded a filtered pool, which camp records describe as the first in Texas. Until then all aquatics took place in the Brazos.

    A swimming instructor points across the pool while swimmers line the edge and a diving board extends over the water.
    Swim instruction at the filtered pool, 1940s.

  16. c. 1941

    Morris Sheppard Dam tames the river

    The dam at Possum Kingdom controlled floods upstream, opening the river bottoms to permanent use and making the Palo Pinto stretch a prime canoeing venue.

  17. 1943

    Wartime training

    The pool was used for military swimming and diving instruction during World War II.

  18. 1947

    Fulkerson Memorial Chapel and Camp Todd

    After Jerry Fulkerson's death in February, Scouters created a native-stone chapel in his memory. Camp Todd was dedicated July 13.

    Tents among trees beside a small white building, black and white.
    Camp Todd, dedicated in 1947.

  19. 1949

    Longhorn Council

    The Fort Worth Area Council became the Longhorn Council. The A. J. Fulkerson Memorial Chapel was dedicated in July.

  20. 1950s

    Clearing the Bottoms

    Senior Scouts, volunteers, and Order of the Arrow members cleared the Brazos Bottoms for camping and shooting sports.

    A Scout in a hat stands with a burro in brushy country.
    A Scout and burro, 1950.

  21. 1953

    Home of the Order of the Arrow lodge

    Worth Ranch became home of Nishkin Halupa A Pe Lachi Lodge.

  22. 1954

    Aquatic School begins

    Aquatic School became one of the council's signature programs, using both the pool and the Brazos.

    Several canoes paddle down a calm stretch of the Brazos River.
    Canoes on the Brazos below camp.

  23. 1957–58

    Captain Kidd Council Ring

    Cap Kidd retired in 1957; the council ring built in 1958 honors him.

  24. 1957–67

    Ranger Oscar Bilger

    Oscar Bilger kept an aging property running with mechanical skill and thrift until his death in 1967.

  25. Mid-1960s

    The traditional summer camp

    The council built newer camps elsewhere, but Worth Ranch remained its traditional summer camp and a camper favorite.

  26. 1975

    Museum renovated

    Volunteers renovated the museum, and did so again in the late 1990s.

  27. 1977

    Allen Johnson begins 24 years as ranger

    The longest ranger tenure to that date.

  28. 1980

    50th-anniversary time capsule

    A time capsule was placed near the museum, to be opened on the camp's 100th anniversary.

    Bronze plaque for the Worth Ranch 50th Anniversary Conclave, March 29, 1980, marking a time capsule to be opened on the 100th anniversary.
    The 1980 time-capsule plaque.

  29. 1986

    Hernia Hill stairway

    Volunteers built the stairway on the climb between the Bottoms and main camp.

    A long concrete stairway with green handrails climbs through woods.
    The Hernia Hill stairway, built in 1986.

  30. 1993

    Municipal waterline

    A waterline connected Worth Ranch to Palo Pinto, supplementing the old well system.

  31. 1994

    Camp office and new pools

    Landreth Lodge became the camp office, and the pool complex was rebuilt with a second pool.

  32. 1997

    Ranger residence and Climbing Garden

    A new ranger residence and the Climbing Garden were added.

  33. 1998

    Second purchase

    The council bought the Henry and Bess McClure farm to the east after their deaths. It nearly doubled the ranch and opened new ground near Kyle Mountain.

  34. 2000

    Duncan Dining Hall opens

    The 10,000-square-foot, air-conditioned dining hall was a gift of Arlington businessman Bob Duncan.

    Duncan Dining Hall, a long building with a row of stone arches and a green metal roof.
    Duncan Dining Hall before the Ross Fire.

  35. 2000s–2020s

    Restoring the stone buildings

    The original stone buildings were air-conditioned and restored one by one.

  36. 2005

    Jack Boyd Flagpole

    A taller flagpole honoring longtime Scoutmaster Jack Boyd was dedicated for the 75th anniversary.

    Scouts hold a giant American flag as it rises up the parade-ground flagpole.
    Raising the garrison flag on the Jack Boyd Flagpole.

  37. 2014

    Year-round ski slope

    Charlie Martin's ski slope opened.

  38. 2016

    Lorenzetti Shelter

    Built in honor of Eagle Scout, Army officer, and diplomat Dario Lorenzetti.

  39. 2018

    Ideal Scout statue and Deren Wright sundial

    Both were added near the dining hall.

    A bronze sundial with an eagle relief and the words Worth Ranch, The Big Adventure.
    The Deren Wright sundial, 2018.

  40. 2021

    Foreman's House renovated

    The Foreman's House was renovated for first aid and meetings. A pavilion across from it formed a new camp entrance.

  41. 2023

    Historical Commission tour

    The Palo Pinto County Historical Commission toured Worth Ranch on April 29.

  42. 2024

    Welcome Plaza paved

  43. 2025

    Historical marker drafted

    The narrative for a Texas Historical Marker on FM 4 was drafted in September.

  44. Aug. 24, 2026

    The Ross Fire

    The Ross Fire caused catastrophic damage to Worth Ranch. No one was hurt.

  45. Sept. 17, 2026

    Recovery begins

    The fire was declared 100% contained and the council began to assess and document the damage.