Our history, is a story of its own.

Born December 31, 1921, in Ivanhoe, Texas, Joe Kirkpatrick grew up in Gainesville, Texas after his father's early passing. Alongside his mother, stepfather, and siblings, he worked the fields picking berries and cotton, earning fifty cents a day and growing food on their small farm.  

In 1941, he joined the U.S. Army as a medic with the 36th Recon and served in Europe during WWII until his discharge in 1945. After the war, he trained in leather work through the GI Bill's program and briefly worked at Chaney & Sons before deciding to forge his own path.  

In 1950, he founded Kirkpatrick Leather Company, producing handbags and kits for Tandy Stores. When offered a position with Tandy in Fort Worth, he chose to remain independent, though he and Charles Tandy remained friends.  

His entrepreneurial spirit expanded into a western wear store and a music shop in Gainesville. In the mid-1960s, he launched Cisco Boots and traveled to Laredo, Texas, where he met and fell in love with Cristina, a paralegal who would become his wife in 1968. They relocated the leather business to Laredo and built it together, traveling to gun shops across the country before growing into a national supplier with accounts like Walmart and Academy Sports. 

 In 1979, they set out in search of a place that could bring together family, land, and legacy—a vision Joe Kirkpatrick had held close to his heart. With relatives still in Gainesville and his twin brother living in Fort Worth, Joe longed for land in North Texas. A place where they could spend summers, ride horses, and reconnect with their roots.  

And they found it.  

They were drawn to the charm of Bonham, Texas—a town with a history as rich as their own. It offered the perfect blend of peaceful country living and convenient access to the metroplex. That’s where they discovered the hidden gem that is Powder Creek Ranch—becoming the very first to experience its magic.  

From fieldwork to frontlines, from leathercraft to love, his life was a testament to hard work, family, and forging your own way.