Founding The King Ranch
As soon as King had arrived in Texas, he began speculating in land, beginning with lots in Brownsville, Texas and Cameron County, Texas, and continued investing the large profits from the riverboat firm. In 1852, King purchased a false title to the southern half of Padre Island. That same year, he traveled overland from Brownsville to Corpus Christi, and became fascinated with the grasslands along Santa Gertrudis Creek in the "Nueces Strip" (the land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande). In 1853 and 1854 King began land acquisitions in the region of the creek, purchasing valid titles to two ranches of a combined 68,500 acres (277 km2), forming the nucleus of the King Ranch. He continued acquiring land until his death in 1885, when the ranch had 614,000 acres (2,480 km2).
Read more about this topic: Richard King (Texas)
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