New Mexico
In the early 1920s he was involved with the Vermejo Park Ranch guest ranch.
In 1925 he bought land in the old 5,500 acres (22 km2) Pecos Pueblo Grant for a guest ranch called Forked Lightning Ranch. The main ranch house was one of the first works of John Gaw Meem. The ranch is now part of the Pecos National Historic Park. Austin would hold cattle drives between the ranch and Las Vegas, New Mexico recruiting city folk back east to participate in the drives. The ranch was later owned by Buddy Folgeson and the actress Greer Garson.
After losing the ranch in the Great Depression Austin retired to Santa Fe with his wife Mary Lou McGuire of Albuquerque. They opened a restaurant in Santa Fe called "Tex Austin's Los Rancheros."
He committed suicide in 1938 a few weeks after getting diagnosis that he was going blind. He died of carbon monoxide inhalation while he was in his car at his home. Photographs of his rodeo days were found stacked on the couch of his home.
Read more about this topic: Tex Austin
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