Ranches of Significance in Cameron County
Norman Rozeff, August 2007
Almost immediately after the Lower Rio Grande Valley was colonized in the 1700s Spanish land grants were awarded to individuals. Large tracts north of the Rio Grande, some given the names of saints, were made to influential citizens or as rewards for service to the king. Upon the independence of Mexico in 1821 additional land grants were awarded by the Government of Mexico to promote colonization. Later these grants would be broken up into smaller parcels called porciones. These were usually inherited by descendents of the original grantees. As these grew in number the porciones were further subdivided into "Shares". In deep, South Texas these elongated parcels usually had some frontage on the river in order to guarantee water for livestock. The semi-arid region was used almost exclusively for grazing. Sheep then cattle and, almost always, wild horses and donkeys utilized the ranges which were heavily interspersed with native trees and thick scrub brush.
In what was to become Cameron County, Texas numerous ranches predominated the land use, almost to an exclusive extent. They were mainly of large size as periodic droughts forced the ranches to have available grazing pastures in times of need. Even considerable size often failed to suffice as multi-year droughts could plague the area.The initial
grants were, in effect, giant ranches for, outside of some minor crop culture,
they sustained only scattered livestock. Fences and barbed wire would be many
years in coming. The land grants in what would eventually become Cameron County
were seven in number. In the southeast bordered by the Rio Grande and the Gulf
of Mexico was Ignacio Trevino's San Martin. Immediately to its north was Raphael
Garcia's Santa Isabel. Bordering both to the west was Jose Salvador de la
Garza's Potrero Del Espiritu Santo. To its west was the triangular shaped grant
to Pedro Villareal of San Pedro de Carricitos. The brothers Eugenio and
Bartolome Fernandez were awarded the Concepcion de Carricitos Grant in 1781.
Its northern boundary was the Arroyo Colorado, but some maps erroneously show it
extending further north to the Ojo de Agua Sub-grant acquired by Dona Maria
Hinojosa de Balli who also possessed the last major grant on what would be the
county's west boundary, this being the La Feria Grant.
The following list names most of the ranches that existed in area presently encompassed
by Cameron County from the earliest times to about 1923, and a lesser number of the
larger ranches after that year, when changing land use for irrigated agriculture reduced
ranch sizes. Several ranches at different location possess the same names.
A. Orives
Agua Negra
Alta Coro
Alto
Amargosal
Americano
Anacuas Altas
Anaquas
Anaquitas
Asadon
Barclays (and Paso Real Crossing)
Barreales
Barreda
Boco Chico
Box
Boyd
Buena Vista
Burritos
Calabozo
Capitaneño
Carmen
Casa Baliada
Castanas (and crossing)
Cavazos
Champions
Charcos Puercos
Cibolo
Colimal
Combes
Concepcion
Confederados
Cotio
Cuatitas
Cueto
Curamales
Delicias
Dilworth
Divisadero
Dos de Copas
El Arenal
El Barranco
El Bayo
El Castillo
El Cipres (Landrum)
El Cotillo
El Ebonito
El Garza (Garaz)
El Gigante
El Manon
El Pie
El Placer
El Puente
El Ranchito
El Refugio
El Saenz
El Venado (Venadito)
Encantada
Enramadas
Esperanza
Estrella
Flor de Mayo
Florida
Fresnal
Galveston
Gavito (Lomito)
Gloria
Gloria
Gran Jeno
Guerrano
Hacienda
Hacienda Berber
Hardin
Higueras
Hormigas
Jarratada
Kirby
La Colmena
La Coma (Comas)
La Cruz
La Cuna
La Encantada
La India
La India
La Leona
La Llorona (La Luz)
La Muralla
La Noria
La Palangana
La Paloma
La Pita
La Providencia
La Reforma
La Rucias
La Tasa (and crossing)
La Tina
La Union
Laguna Larga
Lampazos
Landrum (El Cipres)
Las Arranas
Las Burras
Las Flores
Las Palmas
Las Prietas
Las Prietas
Las Rocias
Las Rucias
Las Violetas
Las Yescas
Limena
Los Angeles
Los Arados
Los Barregos
Los Carricitos (Callecitas)
Los Clamores
Los Coyotes
Los Fresnos Viejo
Los Indios
Los Naranjos
Los Soldados
Los Soldados
Los Tizones
Los Tomates
Los Tulitos
Lozano
Mata de Sandia
Mesquite
Miradores
Muerto
Naranjo
Nogales
Nopal
Nuevo
Ojo de Aqua
Old Palmito
Old San Joaquin
Olmales
Orizaba
Palmitel (and crossing)
Palmito
Palo Blanco
Palo Blanco
Panola
Papalote
Parida
Paso de los Tavernas (and crossing)
Peladas
Preseno
Puerta
Puerta de San Andres
Puerto del Sauz
Puerto Rico
Purisima
Ramireno
Rancheria
Rancho Colorado
Rancho Colorado
Rancho Coyote
Rancho de los Indios
Rancho Nuevo
Rancho Nuevo
Rancho Viejo
Rancho Viejo
Realito
Reparo
Rincon
Rio Rancho (dairy)
Rodeo
Rosita
Sabinitas
Saint Teresa
Salada
San Andres
San Antonio
San Guillermo
San Isidro
San Joaquin
San Jose
San Jose
San Jose
San Juan
San Juan del Retiro
San Martin
San Pedro
San Pedro
San Pedro
San Pedro
San Raphael
San Raphael
San Vicente
Santa Anitya
Santa Elena
Santa Maria (Hynes-Rabb)
Santa Olalia
Santa Rita
Santa Rita
Santa Rosalia
Santos Tomas (San Thoms)
Sauz (Los Sauces)
Searcy
Siestaderos
Southmost (San Raphael)
Tandy
Tanques del Ramireno
Tepequaje
Tothman (Eliot Roberts)
Tule Grande
Tuloso
Turners
Vera Cruz
Vicente
Villadama
Villanueva
Wardner
Wariner
White (Rancho Paso del Prado)
White's