Hawkins Ranch

The Hawkins Ranch is a historic ranch in Matagorda County, Texas, USA. The ranch was established in 1846 as a sugarcane plantation. After the American Civil War, it became a cattle ranch.

History

The Hawkins Ranch was established by James Boyd Hawkins in 1846.[1] It was a sugarcane plantation,[1] with 101 African slaves by 1860.[2] In December 1863, during the American Civil War of 1861–1865, Confederate States Army General John B. Magruder was inspecting coastal defenses in the area and "stopp[ed] awhile at Hawkins' plantation and other hospitable places."[3] After the war, paid laborers were supplemented by convicts.[2] For example, in 1876, Hawkins employed 37 convicts.[4]

In the wake of the invention of barbed wire, the plantation gradually became a cattle ranch.[1] Wells and trails were built throughout the ranch.[1] Most cattle are a crossbreed of Hereford and Brahman cattle.[1]

In 1919, Hamill and Associates conducted a test to determine whether oil existed on the ranch, but drilling did not continue.[5] Orbit Petroleum operated gas wells on the ranch for several years.[6] Gas wells were shut in by the Texas Railroad Commission as a result of Hurricane Rita in 2005, and they were reopened in 2007.[6]

Further reading
  • Furse, Margaret Lewis (2014). The Hawkins Ranch in Texas: From Plantation Times to the Present. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-62349-110-9.

References
  1. Lewis, Frank Hawkins (February 1979). "Evolution of an Early Texas Ranch". Rangelands. 1 (1): 6–8. JSTOR 3900331.
  2. Leatherwood, Art (June 15, 2010). "HAWKINS, JAMES BOYD". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  3. Gallaway, B.P., "Texas, the Dark Corner of the Confederacy". University of Nebraska Press, 1994, p. 176.
  4. "Office Insp'r State Penitentiary". The Austin Weekly Statesman. Austin, Texas. June 29, 1876. p. 1. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hull Field Has 2500 Bbl. Wells. Gulf Production Company Brings in Best Test of Coastal Field". El Paso Herald. El Paso, Texas. August 21, 1919. p. 5. Retrieved December 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "The Orbit Petroleum Hawkins Ranch Project is Back in Focus". Houston Chronicle. January 12, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2015.


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