George Ranch Historical Park

 

 

Explore Four Generations: the 1830s Jones Stock Farm, the 1860s Ryon Prairie Home, the 1890s Davis Victorian Site, and the 1930s George Cattle Complex.

 

Embark on a trip through history with a visit to one of the earliest settlements of Northeast Mexico: the Henry and Nancy Jones Homestead. Interpreters recreate the conversations and daily chores, bringing life to Nancy and Henry Jones’ world – the gardens, farm, livestock, kitchens and homestead. Depending on the season, you might see “family members” tending the garden, caring for the livestock or performing domestic chores such as weaving or corn grinding.  Guests are encouraged to participate, so don’t be surprised if you are put to work in this fully hands-on environment.

• The Dog-Trot Log Cabin: Explore pioneer living at its finest with this 1830s log-cabin replica. Guests get the opportunity to pick up and touch almost everything at this site which creates a truly immersive experience.
• Summer Kitchen: Cooking before the modern kitchen could be quite a feat. Visit this outdoor kitchen which was used by the family almost year-round.
• Stock Farm Outbuildings: A stock farm was only as efficient as the various outbuildings which provided support for the daily operations. Tour the smokehouse, barn, chicken coop and hog pen and learn about these important extensions of the family home.

 

Picture life in post-Civil War Texas with a visit to the home of Polly Ryon and her husband William during the rapid expansion of their ranching operations. Learn about this remarkable second generation story amidst a time of both great struggle and great change in both Texas and the United States.

• Ryon Prairie Home:  Explore this Greek Revival home first built in 1851 for a first hand glimpse into the lifestyle of the unique family who lived and prospered here.
• Ryon Prairie Home Outbuildings: Explore the gardens, chicken coop, and pig pen which made a Ranch a home in the mid-19th century. Then take a short walk to discover a reproduction sugar cane press at the back of the property.
• Chuck Wagon Camp: Visit the chuckwagon camp and learn about the golden age of the cattle drive in this immersive outdoor environment.

Explore the waning days of the 19th century in the Victorian splendor of the Davis Complex. Learn about the third generation of the family at the Davis Mansion and then complete your tour by visiting the sharecropper farm and working blacksmith shop.

 

• The Davis House: Get a feel for the very proper Victorian era by touring the elegant Davis House. This beautiful home depicts a prosperous lifestyle in the 1890s, and is a favorite of visitors of all ages.
• The Original Family Cemetery: The family cemetery was established in the 1820s with the last burial in 1916. Many of the later generations of the family are buried in historic Morton Cemetery in Richmond.
• Oldenburg Blacksmith: Learn the importance of the blacksmith trade as you watch craftsmen at work. Following tradition, the blacksmith makes most of the simple metal tools and equipment needed on the Ranch today.
• The Sharecropper’s Farm: Step into the daily life of a working Sharecropper farm in the era after the Civil War. Learn how freed slaves and displaced soldiers survived by engaging in this often unfair system of tenant farming.
• Line Camp: Visit this rustic shelter used by the ranch cowboys to take refuge during the night while riding the extensive property lines. Learn how the cattle industry was forever changed when the open range was enclosed with barbed wire fencing.
• The Rail Car and Longhorn Pens: Explore an exhibit that presents the ways cattle were moved to market from this part of Texas … some went by trails, some by rails and even some by sails.  A group of ranch raised Longhorns are in an adjacent pasture.
  
  
  
  Mamie George, with her husband A.P.’s assistance, was the last descendent of Henry and Nancy Jones to oversee this ranching operation. Listen to the last chapter of this amazing family story and explore the home and barns which are original to the 1930s and 1940s.

• The George Ranch Home: Take a tour of the George Ranch Home which still stands where it was built at the turn-of-the-century (designed by renowned Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton). The house is still filled with many of the George family furnishings.
• Cowboy Barns and Working Pens: The original barns and working pens set the stage for our interpretive programs on ranching in the 1930s and 1940s. See the cowboys working cattle in the front pens (sorting, roping and more). Also, watch the cowboys tend to the cattle in the chute before sending them into one of the few dipping vats still in existence in the United States.
  Visit https://www.georgeranch.org/ for more information and to plan a visit!