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| By Mike Hall |
| The Brownsville Herald |
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| RICHMOND, Texas - The quest for the West is alive at the George Ranch Historical Park, 25 miles southwest of Houston off Highway 59 on FM 762. A modest drive from the Valley can take visitors back a hundred years in time to a 480 - acre living history site located on a 23,000-acre working ranch. |
| Hands-on experiences and interactive programs with costumed interpreters year round make the ranch visit memorable. While the Park is open daily for guests, one of the best times of the year to come is Texian Market Days, a community celebration at the park in October that features extended exhibits, a Civil War camp and battle re-enactments, live entertainment along with over a hundred craft and food booths. |
| This year`s 19th installment of Texian Market Days was true to the Texan spirit as busloads of school children and other visitors came to the event, despite the rain. The George Ranch Historical Park is operated by the Fort Bend Museum Association and the George Foundation. These two non-profit organizations bring in more than1,000 volunteers dressed in period costumes and community groups for Texian Market Days, which expand the park`s goal of rounding up Texas history for the whole family. |
| Texian Market Days has emerged as one of the Fort Bend Museum`s proudest accomplishments, said Michael Moore, the Executive Director of the Fort Bend Museum Association. Visitors and families come to enjoy the expanded programming we offer during the festival every year. |
| The George Ranch had it`s beginnings in the 1820s when Texas was still part of Mexico and Henry and Nancy Jones began their stock farm. Economic and political uncertainty plagued the country. |
| The estate entered the Victorian era as Judge J.H.P. Davis who married a granddaughter of Henry and Nancy Jones, became a financier and community leader, according to Lana Dunkerley, publicity coordinator at the park. |
| The Davis House was moved intact from its original location, near the present day Polly Ryon Hospital, to the George Ranch in 1977. A family cemetery is located near the home`s present site at the park. The pioneer log cabin was razed to build a plantation home in the 1850s, and the park has built a replica of that log cabin to interpret the pioneer story at the historical park. |
| In the 20th century, Albert .P. George became a pioneer in cattle ranching, working with the King Ranch early in the development of Santa Gertrudis cattle. George`s Brahorn cattle were similar. George built his ranch house in the 1900. The building was designed by Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton, designer of the Bishop`s Palace in Galveston and other historic Texas buildings, Dunkerley said. |
| The newest exhibit at the park is the Linke House. In 1928 Albert George built several new red-roofed homes for farmers on the ranch, including the house occupied by Leo and Hilda Linke. The Linke family lived in the house for more than 65 years, and the building was relocated along with its original barn as an exhibit for farming and farm families of the early 20th century, Dunkerley said. |
| The George Ranch Historical Park has been featured on the History Channel in a segment of Hands On History. Last December, Ron Hazelton and his crew arrived to film an episode of cattle ranching in Texas and how cowboys continue to keep cattle working traditions alive. Hazelton is the home improvement editor for ABC-TV`s Good Morning America, and the creator of his own home improvement program called House Calls. In each episode, Hazelton visits historic sites and gets an in-depth, hands-on education in the topic of the week. Other topics explored by the syndicated show range from railroads to brewing beer and minting coins, Dunkerley said. |
| We hope that a visit to the George Ranch offers a rewarding experience for all members of the family, said Bryan McAuley, Programs Director at the George Ranch. We are proud of our hands on and innovative programs like our pioneer chores and chuck wagon lunches. Next time you are in the Houston area, consider stopping in for a truly Texas experience. |
| A self-guided tour of the park begins at the Visitor Center. Guests can be introduced to the George Ranch story through exhibits of artifacts from the four generations of the one family that has owned the property since 1824. The Dry Creek General Store located in the Visitor`s Center along with the Dinner Belle Café is a place for dining, buying books, gifts, and receiving information. |
| Areas to visit are the 1830s stock farm, 1890s Davis House Complex which includes a sharecroppers farm, blacksmith shop and cowboy camp then moves on to the 1930s George Ranch House and the working ranch with it`s barn buildings and pens. |
| Opportunities for experiencing the West continue for students throughout the year. Gone to Texas is a group role-playing activity for students in grades 6-12. Hands-on activities for younger children relate experiences of a 1830s pioneer, or they can be an 1890s chuck wagon camp cook, and a 1930`s rancher, McAuley said. |
| Facilities can be rented to meet a variety of needs and occasions for private parties or corporate functions. A chuck wagon fandango, a trip to an 1890`s cowboys camp, is good for groups of 35 to 70. If the wide-open spaces are not on the agenda, a pioneer social allows guests to experience a party and entertainment of the 1830s. Companies can have special events such as corporate rodeos in an indoor area with seating for up to 4,000 people, and the ranch is available for commercial film shoots McAuley said. |
| A visit to the George Ranch Historic Park is a ticket to feel, see, hear and taste and smell the Western heritage, Texas style. |
| The park can be experienced in several levels depending on time and interest. Best of it, it is within a few hours driving range from the Valley. |
| The George Ranch Historic Park is open daily from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. and is at 10215 F.M. 762, Richmond, Texas, 77469. General admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, 62 and over, and $5 for children, 5-15. For more information on events, schedules and prices, call (281) 343-0218, or go to www.georgeranch.org. |
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