A century ago, the prominent ranch gate became an important and needed part of a ranch. Before the gate, the ranch house stood alone amid a vast unfenced range, and because there were no well-defined roads, the owner built his house to face the prevailing breeze or a scenic vista, or to take advantage of the best point from which to oversee his livestock. Visitors, especially strangers, who approached from the open range had to determine the architectural face of the house as they drew near, lest their intentions become suspect. When barbed wire had crisscrossed the plains, ranchers began to fence their property to protect their grass, water, unwelcomed guests and squatters. Fencing required more entrances to the ranch, so the rancher had to leave makeshift gates along the wire, called gaps, for passage from pasture to pasture. Since the house might be miles from the gate and out of sight, a landowner needed to distinguish the entrance leading to ranch headquarters from those leading to pastures, bunkhouses, corrals and barns, so he marked the main gate with handy discards and found objects like broken wheels, cow skulls and rocks. The ranch gate became a marker, directing the traveler to the house. The most visible landmark on an otherwise featureless prairie, it alerted the wayfarer that a friendly face could be found nearby. As more ranches sprang up and public roads developed, the ranch entrance became its owner's trademark, displaying signs advertising a particular breeding stock, the name of the ranch or its shorthand form, the brand, and the date the ranch was established.