King Ranch in Texas
Serenity Stevenson -6th
How did king ranch happen?
The 825,000-acre King Ranch, in Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties, had its beginning in 1852, when Richard King and Gideon K. Lewisqqv set up a cattle camp on Santa Gertrudis Creek in South Texas.
How did the ranch grow?
Formal purchase began in 1853, when they bought a Spanish land grant, Rincón de Santa Gertrudis, of 15,500 acres on Santa Gertrudis Creek in Nueces County. A short time later they purchased the Garza Santa Gertrudis grant of 53,000 acres. During the mid-1850s, as partners, King and Lewis acquired more landholdings around the area of the creek
The ranch now
During the 1980s and 1990s the ranch became more involved in tourism. By the later 1980s visitors could tour the ranch along a twelve-mile driving loop. In the 1990s tourists could also visit the King Ranch Museum in Kingsville, which features historic ranch items and photographs.