King Ranch- Kingsville, TX

All hat and no cattle certainly does not apply to King Ranch. With 35,000 cattle and over 200 Quarter Horses, it is one of the largest ranches in world. At 825,000 acres, it is larger than the State of Rhode Island. Founded in 1853, it is a living reminder of the Wild West; wonderfully historic, it is a true throwback to the days of cowboys and cattle drives. Though still a thriving concern, the ranch itself is very much a reflection of the past.

Founder Richard King lived a very interesting life. Born in New York City to poor Irish immigrants in 1824, he was indentured to a jeweler at the age of 11. This occupation did not agree with him, so he took to the sea, eventually becoming a Texas steamboat captain under future president Zachary Taylor. In 1852, on his way to the Lone Star Fair in Corpus Christi, King stumbled upon the a swath of mesquite shaded land adjacent to the Santa Gertrudis Creek, and immediately decided to make it his. At the fair he convinced a friend, Captain Gideon Lewis, to join him in the venture, and they immediately started buying up land. In short order they owned over 1.2 million acres.

Lewis was killed just a few short years later, felled by a jealous husband. Undeterred, King found a new partner, and carried on with his ranch plans. Upon learning of a drought decimated Mexican town, King quickly traveled there, returning with all the village’s cattle and residents. These were King’s first ranch hands, known as Los Kineños, many of whom have descendants that remain on the ranch to this day.

The ranch experimented with several brands in the early years, before registering the “Running W” in 1869. Although its meaning has been lost to time, the brand has not; it remains the ranch’s official mark to this day, gracing everything from their cattle to Ford’s F150 King Ranch edition trucks. Trucks that are obscenely expensive, and far too luxurious to actually haul anything. Initially the ranch raised cattle, horses, goats and sheep, but began to focus on cattle by the mid 1870s. Their stock included Texas Longhorns, Brahman Bulls, Herefords, Beef Shorthorns, and their own trademark breed Santa Gertrudis, which they developed by crossing the Brahmans with Shorthorns. The Santa Gertrudis are considered the first American breed of beef cattle.

In addition to their cattle program, the ranch applied their breed improvement processes to their Quarter Horses. In 1939, Bold Venture was added to their breeding program, becoming the only horse to sire two Kentucky Derby winners, both from King Ranch mares. In 1946, one of those horses, Assault, became the seventh Triple Crown Champion; Assault remains the only Texas born horse to date to win all three races. Upon his death in 1971 he was buried at the ranch.

In 1915, King’s wife built a grand 27 room Mediterranean style mansion on the ranch, a replacement for a earlier home that burned down in 1912. At over 37,000 square feet, 26 fireplaces, 17 bedrooms, and Tiffany designs throughout, it was one of the finest homes in Texas. This house served as the ranch’s private residence for seven generations of King’s, however it is currently used to host corporate meetings and family events, and is not open to the public. Although we drove past the home on our tour, and I dare say slowed slightly, no stop was made. Boo.

Although several hours in length, the tour seemed almost too short. With so many fascinating firsts, and historical events, it is impossible to cover them all. Fortunately there is a museum in town that covers anything the tour might have missed. There is also an outstanding gift shop, which is in no way what you are imagining. Unless you are imagining a store stocked with fine leather goods, and textiles made at the ranch. Then it is. You will leave with something, or at least want to.

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