Chateau in Burgundy
Listing sponsored by
KappaElastin™
Scientific Breakthrough. No Shots
Science response to skin aging.
www.kappaelastin.com
10215 F M 762
Richmond, Texas
Phone: (281) 545-9212 or (281) 343-0218.
TTY:
Web
site: www.georgeranch.org
The George Ranch Historical Park is a 480-acre living history park, the center point of a 23,000-acre working ranch in Fort Bend County, Texas. The George Ranch is located on FM 762 in Richmond, Texas, just 30 miles southwest of downtown Houston.
A journey through Texas history begins at the George Ranch Historical Park.
Among majestic live-oak trees and prairie grass stands an 1830s pioneer stock farm, an 1890s chuckwagon and line camp, blacksmith shop and Victorian mansion and an 1930s ranch. At every point along the way, costumed interpreters welcome visitors to these three remarkable periods in Texas history.
The unique history of the park dates back to the earliest settlement of southeast Texas in the 1820s and spans four generations of one family. In 1823, Henry and Nancy Jones left Jonesborough, Arkansas, bound for residents for Stephen F. Austin's colony in Mexican Texas. By 1824, the family had settled on a league of land (4,428 acres) along the Brazos River.
Shaped by lineage and inheritance, this particular parcel of land passed through four generations from mother to daughter (hence the Ranch's changing name). The last family members to own and operate the property were Mamie and A. P. George. Their one son, Davis George, died of cholera as a young child, leaving no direct heirs. In 1945, A.P. and Mamie George created the George Foundation to manage the estate.
Today this philanthropic foundation still manages the family lands and continues to follow Mr. and Mrs. George's wishes by using the assets to benefit Fort Bend County. The George Foundation has funded several local libraries, the YMCA, Polly Ryon Hospital and a large portion of the observatory at Brazos Bend State Park. Also, most major universities and colleges in Texas receive scholarship and low-interest loan money from the George estate.
In 1986, the George Foundation asked the Fort Bend Museum Association to open the George Ranch Historical Park to educate visitors of all ages about Texas' ranching heritage. Today it is open daily to the general public, and the George Ranch's staff present specialized school programs to nearly 30,000 school children every year. The George Ranch Historical Park facilities are available for site rentals for special corporate and group events. All funds generated from operation of the Park support educational programs and services.
The George Ranch Historical Park's costumed interpreters introduce visitors to more than one hundred years of Texas history. The 1830s site, Austin's Colony Jones Stock Farm, presents early settlement by American families and their fight for independence from Mexico; the Ryon Farm and Pasture Company reflects Texas’ changing agricultural economy of 1890s; and the stories of land and cattle management, the Depression and discovery of oil are told against the backdrop of the 1930s George Ranch.
At the 1830s Jones Stock Farm, visitors learn from authentically dressed interpreters what life was like in pioneer Texas. With a dogtrot cabin, a large garden and period-appropriate livestock as focal points, interpreters introduce visitors of all ages to the life ways and history of Texians in the 1820s and 30s, inviting guests to try their hand at carding and spinning cotton, grinding corn and other pioneer chores.
Visitors are introduced to the 1890s Ryon Farm and Pasture Company area at the line camp where chuckwagon cooks interpret chuckwagon cooking, life on the long cattle drives and the impacts of barbed wire and railroads on the old ways of the open range. Adjacent to the line camps, visitors will find the sharecropper's farm, which gives insight into the challenges and opportunities of life for freed slaves and other laborers in the years following the Civil War. A visit to the elegantly furnished Victorian-era J.H.P. Davis Mansion (circa 1896) and the fully operating blacksmith shop provides even deeper understanding of the changing times on Texas ranches.
The 1930s George Ranch House area brings visitors into the twentieth-century oil and ranching era in Texas. A tour of the Ranch House complex includes the Georges' home and cattle working operations--sorting, roping and dipping in one of Texas' only remaining dipping vats. These were the Depression years, and jobs were scarce and precious. At the Linke House, learn about the important contribution and heritage of laborers and managers in South Texas' multi-ethnic ranching and farming community. (And when visiting, don't miss the huge tree house. It's a favorite for young and old alike.)
Visitors can ride on the tractor-pulled tram to the three areas of this
living history park and are guided by experienced interpreters every step of the
way through a century of Texas history.
Each Saturday, the chuckwagon cook prepares an authentic meal over the open fire--cowboy stew and beans, biscuits and cobbler. All are welcomed to attend. Reservations are requested. ($12 per person.)
In addition to special celebrations of Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and the holidays, events include the Runaway Scrape, the first weekend in April. The Scrape recreates the trials of the Jones family during the Texians' fight for independence from Mexico in the 1830s.
Fall brings the Texian Market Days Festival. Begun in 1983, Texian Market
Days celebrates 180 years of Texas' history. Whether you’re a new Texan, a
visitor to our great state, or your Lone Star lineage is as old and proud as our
independence, we invite you to join our celebration.
Reenactors,
reenactments, arts, crafts, children’s activities and live entertainment.
We’ll have something for everyone!
As South Texas begins settling in for the holiday season, the George Ranch Historical Park hosts the Campfire Christmas, an evening event around campfires that features dining, traditional music and the lulling of horse-drawn hay wagons all under a Texas' night sky.
The George Ranch Historical Park is a joint project of the Fort Bend Museum Association and the George Foundation.
The George Ranch Historical Park is open to every day 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Major holidays excepted.)
$9.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors (62+), $5.00 for children ages 5 to 15 and children 4 and younger are free. Enjoy lunch at the Dinner Belle Café and shop in the Dry Creek General Store where visitors can find gifts with a Texas flair.
The George Ranch Historical Park is located at 10215 FM 762 in Richmond, Texas. From Houston, take Highway 59 (the Southwest Freeway) south to the Crabb River Road exit and follow the signs to the Ranch. Or from I-10 (the Katy Freeway) take the Grand Parkway (Highway 99) to the Crabb River Road exit and follow the signs. For more information about the George Ranch Historical Park call (713) 545-9212 or (713) 343-0218..
Michael Moore, Director
Do you have any additional
comments concerning this site?
Do you wish to receive some information on
how to get your museum
on the Museums Tour?