Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum
Henry Clay and Elizabeth Boyle Smith (UTSA Special Collections Library)
Hank Smith’s house in Blanco Canyon (UTSA Special Collections Library)
Blanco Canyon in Crosby County (Leaflet CC BY-SA 4.0)
Hank Smith was born Heinrich Schmitt in Rossbrunn, Bavaria, in 1836. After the death of his father, the 14-year-old moved to Ohio. Before settling on his Cross B Ranch in Blanco Canyon, Smith sailed Lake Erie, joined a wagon train on the Santa Fe Trail, surveyed along the Missouri River, worked as a cowboy, interpreter, and Indian fighter, and fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. In 1878, Smith assumed ownership of the ranch, and completed construction of his new home, the Rock House. Smith and his wife Elizabeth Boyle were the first permanent settlers of Crosby County where they ran cattle and sheep and became involved community members.
Smith’s story is told in the Hank Smith Room at the Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum, which includes more than 45,000 artifacts from the county’s frontier history. A part of the museum was built as a replica of the Smith’s rock house.
Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum
- Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 - 5 p.m.
- Admission: None
- 101 W. Main St., Crosbyton, TX
- 806-675-2331
- Visit Website
