Hunter Line Shack

The Hunter Line Shack

Laurence Parent

Quick Facts

Location:

South McKittrick Canyon

Significance:

The line shack is a remnant of the ranching interests of Judge J.C. Hunter who owned 70,000 acres in what is now Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Designation:

Inside the Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness area.

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Tucked deep into South McKittrick Canyon, the Hunter Line Shack stands as a wilderness remnant of the Hunter-Grisham partnership which consolidated small West Texas ranches into a large corporate entity to make it economically viable in the early Twentieth Century. By the mid-1930s the Hunter family owned the vast majority of the lands that are now a part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. For fifty years the Hunter family hosted guests at this site while the maanged these lands as the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch. 

Located just a short distance from the Grotto, the line shack stands as a testemant to the stewardship of the Guadalupe Mountains by Judge J. C. Hunter and his son, J. C. Hunter, Jr. The shack is composed of long, rectangular irregular masonry with a porch all along the south elevation; the north elevation is built into the hill. The remains of a tack room are located a short distance to the north. In the 1980s the National Prk Service removed a wood frame addition to the structure so that it would not have to be preserved. 

The Hunter Line Shack is last of the day hike destinations in McKittrick Canyon reached without gaining significant elevation.