A Century of Enterprise
By Valerie Crosswell
O ne hundred
thirty-one
years after Jeremiah
Burnett of Missouri
came to Texas, his
fourth-generation descendant
John McRae
of Ponder raises cattle
and farms crops on land
Burnett purchased in
1859. McRae describes
himself as strongly attached
to his land. He
wouldn't dream of
leaving D&M Ranch,
which he and his wife,
Susan Jane McRae,
hope to pass on to their
daughter.
"When I do my
chores, I think, 'A hundred
years ago your forebears
were doing the
same thing.' It gives me
a tremendous amount
of sa tisfaction," said
McRae.
Part of the history of
D&M Ranch appeared
in the first edition of the
Texas Family Land Heritage
Registry in 1974, the
year the Texas Depart- Tomis]
ment of Agriculture were photc
(TDA) began its annual program honoring
Texas farmers and ranchers whose land has
been in continuous production for a
hundred years or more. Sixteen years later,
nearly 2,500 properties have been enrolled
in the Family Land Heritage Program.
"Think about it for a moment," said
Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower.
"Go out on the streets of San
Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, or
anyplace in the state. Few of the businesses
you see will have made it to their tenth
anniversary, much less will have been able
to celebrate a century of enterprise. The
achievement of these productive agricultural
families is remarkable indeed."
L. and Emma Eva Yzaquirre were two and four years old wh
ographed outside their home on Santo Tomis Ranch in Zapa
Properties in the program are owned by
descendants of pioneer families who passed
their land from generation to generation in
an unbroken chain. County judges must
validate applications, which receive final
approval from TDA. This year farms and
ranches founded in 1890 will be among
those honored at the October 11 ceremonies
at the LBJ Library on the
University of Texas campus in Austin.
Honorees will receive a certificate and a
metal gate sign designating their property
as a "Texas Century Farm" or "Texas
Century Ranch."
Personal accounts of family histories
appear in the registry. Some are docu
mented, others have
been passed by word of
; mouth from father to son
to granddaughter. Taken
as a whole, they recreate
_ s ;< the panorama of the
>; ;- state's past. Honorees
include the famous-for
example, King Ranch
Inc. which developed
the Santa Gertrudis
cattle breed-to farmers
e: known only by family
and friends. Registries
... tell stories of runaway
slaves, Mexican ranchers,
Southerners fleeing
the aftermath of the
Civil War, and emigrants
from Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Ireland,
and elsewhere who
created the Texas melting
pot. Why did they
come, people like
Jeremiah Burnett who
risked so much to start a
new life? Settling in
Texas meant dawn-todusk
labor, separation
from neighbors who
might live miles away,
en they and, not infrequently,
ta County. the menace of outlaw
and Indian attack. For most settlers, Texas
stood for a new beginning and the dream of
owning land. Burnett settled here because
he liked what he saw.
"He and his eldest son were in the cattle
business," said McRae. "This was real good
cow country. It fronted on a good source of
water; the upland was good pasture. It had
everything if you were in the cattle
business."
It would be impossible to tell all the
stories of Family Land Heritage farms and
ranches, and the people who founded
them. The following portraits represent, in
a small way, the people who have given
Texas its agricultural past and present.
20 HERITAGE * FALL 1990
