In 1878 James Robert Fletcher, his wife, and son Lorenzo Thomas came here from Granbury with a caravan that included a small herd of cattle and work animals, and a carpenter who built a two-story ranch house. Fletcher filed for a patent on this land because of the nearby spring-fed creek, large trees for wood, coves for animal protection, and ample grass. In the first spring he planted sorghum for his cattle, making this one of the first cultivated areas in the county. He shipped Merino sheep from California and made an unsuccessful attempt to raise the first sheep on a large scale in the area. Lorenzo, known as Lo, walked to school at Buffalo Gap and later to Buffalo Gap Presbyterian College, marking a trail with buffalo skulls that could be seen by moonlight. After his father died in 1886, Lorenzo took over ranch operations. In 1889 he married Lula May Cummings, whom he had met at Buffalo Gap College, and they had three children. Their daughters developed the Lytle Cove land into a wildlife refuge for birds, deer, and wild turkey. The ranch is recognized as the oldest property in Taylor County still occupied by the original family.