The Wallace Pratt Lodge was the summer residence of

Wallace Pratt Wallace Everette Pratt (1885–1981) was a pioneer American petroleum geologist. When he started his position at Standard Oil in 1937, the company named one of their tankers after him, the SS Wallace E Pratt. He is also notable for helping establ ...

, the principal donor of the lands that would become

Guadalupe Mountains National Park Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a national park of the United States in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. The mountain range includes Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at , and El Capitan used as a landmark by travel ...

. Pratt was a

petroleum geologist A petroleum geologist is an earth scientist who works in the field of petroleum geology, which involves all aspects of oil discovery and production. Petroleum geologists are usually linked to the actual discovery of oil and the identification ...

employed by the

Humble Oil Company Humble Oil and Refining Co. was an American oil company founded in 1911 in Humble, Texas. In 1919, a 50% interest in Humble was acquired by the Standard Oil of New Jersey which acquired the rest of the company in September 1959. The Humble brand w ...

, scouting for oilfield leases in west Texas. Pratt visited the

Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains () are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both of which are located wi ...

in 1921, and taking a liking to the place, he bought a quarter share of the McCombs Ranch. In 1929 Pratt bought out his partners, ending up owning a large portion of the canyon, which featured waterfalls flowing over

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

dams, a lush, quiet place in the high desert. In the winter of 1931-1932 Pratt started construction of a house in the canyon, designed by noted Houston architect John F. Staub, who also designed the Pratt's Houston residence. In charge of construction was Vance Phenix, Staub's former employee and residential architect. Vance's brother Dean, a carpenter, and stonemason Adolph May were key craftsmen on the project. The cabin was built of local limestone and heart pine. The Pratt family spent summers at the cabin, which they called the Stone Cabin, and briefly lived there during Wallace Pratt's early retirement. An earlier experience being trapped at the Stone Cabin during a flood caused Pratt to reconsider its use as a full-time residence, so a second home, the

Ship On The Desert The Wallace E. Pratt House, also known as Ship on the Desert (sometimes hyphenated), was the residence of Wallace Pratt in what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far western Texas. Pratt, a petroleum geologist for the Humble Oil & Ref ...

, was constructed outside of the canyon. At some time during construction, probably in 1945, The Stone Cabin was used as a residence by the Ship On the Desert's New York architect, Newton Bevin, and his wife Elizabeth. After moving to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, Pratt donated the Stone Cabin, the Ship On the Desert, and surrounding lands of more than to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, forming the nucleus of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The cabin was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 26, 1975.

References

External links

Pratt Cabin
at Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Historic Structure Report
National Register of Historic Places in Guadalupe Mountains National Park Houses completed in 1932 Houses in Culberson County, Texas Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Culberson County, Texas 1932 establishments in Texas {{CulbersonCountyTX-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links