Dr. Jim Marshall
Retired Pediatrician and Rancher Faces Losing His Home to Proposed Reservoir
Dr. Jim Marshall, a retired pediatrician and current cattle rancher, may lose his beloved ranch home in Cuthand, Texas, if the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir becomes a reality. His 907-acre property, nestled along the Sulphur River, is at risk of being submerged, erasing nearly a decade of hard work and investment.
Dr. Marshall spent over 30 years as a practicing pediatrician. He worked in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, specializing in pediatric critical care medicine and clinical pharmacology and serving as an Executive VP at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. Today, he continues to give back to the medical field, working part-time as a professor at the Texas Christian University Burnett School of Medicine. Despite his impressive medical career, it’s his passion for agriculture that defines his retirement.
“I’ve had a wonderful and fulfilling career here in medicine,” said Dr. Marshall as he reflected on his time in Texas, before highlighting his connection to both healthcare and agriculture. “Farming and ranching have been in the Marshall family since the early 1800s in the Midwest. I was born in Kentucky and raised in Illinois, and one of the main reasons my wife and I chose to move to Texas was to honor that heritage and build our own cattle operation.”
Drawing on his family’s agricultural roots, Dr. Marshall raises beef cattle organically on his land, investing heavily in sustainable infrastructure to maintain the purity of the soil and water. Over the past nine years, he has implemented sectional grazing systems, installed miles of fencing, built roads, and created water pump systems—all to ensure the land remains viable for cattle and untouched by any harmful chemicals.
“We’ve poured over $500,000 into the ranch, hiring local companies to do the technical work,” Dr. Marshall explained. “This isn’t just about raising cattle; it’s about being a steward of the land and contributing to the community.”
The ranch produces beef without steroids or growth hormones, just the medicines cattle need to stay healthy. All of the animals are provided with generous amounts of healthy grasses and clean water. Dr. Marshall sees this as an extension of his work in medicine: “In healthcare, we strive to cure diseases and improve lives. In agriculture, we raise healthy livestock in a way that sustains the land and provides clean, nutritious food for people.”
However, the proposed Marvin Nichols Reservoir threatens to destroy everything. Dr. Marshall’s ranch, including its pastures, hay meadows, woodlands, ranch infrastructure and home, would be completely submerged, leaving no shoreline and no hope of recovery.
“This ranch is my home, my life’s work,” Dr. Marshall said. “At 62, I don’t have the time, energy, or resources to start over. Losing this land means losing a way of life that connects my family’s history to its future. It’s devastating to think about.”
Dr. Marshall’s story is a poignant reminder of the human cost of large-scale development projects, especially when alternatives exist. Experts and advocacy groups have pointed out that there are less destructive ways to meet water demands, including conservation efforts, repairing aging infrastructure, and tapping into underutilized water sources. The Marvin Nichols Reservoir, critics argue, is less about necessity and more about profit for developers and industries, prioritizing financial gain over the livelihoods and legacies of people like Dr. Marshall. For him, the project represents not only the destruction of his home and cattle ranching business but also the reckless disregard for sustainable solutions that preserve both land and community.