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Where
to Stay
Riverboat
captain Richard King came to the Rio Grande to take
charge of one of the riverboats that provisioned General
Zachary Taylor's army during the Mexican War. This was in
the late 1840s, and Captain King decided to stay in the
area, purchasing a Spanish land grant called the Santa
Gertrudis on the site where the town of Kingsville now
sits. He stocked his ranch with Mexican cattle, and
imported Mexican workers as cowboys.
The
King Ranch played an important role during the Civil War,
when the Cotton Road became a supply route for the
Confederate side. Cotton was hauled south to Mexico in
exchange for war materials. Refusing to bow to Union
threats, King not only kept the road open but provided
beef and horses to Confederate troops.
The
town of Kingsville is now the access point for
visiting the vast ranch. The first place to go is the
King Ranch Museum and Visitor Center.
After
the Civil War, the ranch's "Running W" brand became
famous as the large herds were run north to supply the
growing cities. King kept adding to the ranchlands, and
by his death the ranch had expanded to 600,000 acres. His
widow, Henrietta, and son-in-law Robert Kleberg, added
further to the property, which now covers 1.3 million
acres (1,300 square miles) in four counties. Descendants
of the Klebergs have managed the ranch over the years,
developing a new cattle strain which they named Santa
Gertrudis, as well as farming the largest cotton
operation in the state. The ranch is home to a
distinguished stable that breeds and trains championship
quarter horses.
Parts
of the ranch are open to the public. One would think that
a cattle ranch would have a paucity of wildlife, but that
is not the case. This ranch is huge, and there is plenty
of room for cattle and wilder creatures. A 12-mile loop
drive is open to the public. Tours are self-guided with a
map available at the ranch gatehouse. The drive includes
views of show pens, feeding pens, and pastures where
cattle and quarter horses graze.
More
can be learned about the history of the King family and
the ranch from 1939 to 1944 at the King Ranch Museum,
which also has a display of vehicles dating from the
ranch's early years. The museum and visitor center, on
State Highway 141 west of Kingsville, is open from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and on Sundays from
noon to 4 p.m. Guided tours (with a fee) include a
cultural tour of the ranch, and a bus tour. Special tours
include a three-day wildlife expedition to see migrating
birds in spring and fall. Some of these tours are offered
through private firms, but you can pick up information on
them all at the visitor center. For details, and to
arrange a tour, call (512) 592-8055.
Kingsville
Camping
Oasis
RV and Mobile Home Park
P.O. Box 1689, Kingsville TX
(519) 592-0764
We don't usually recommend that travelers pull into an
established mobile home park, but this is the only
private RV facility in Kingsville, the headquarters of
the King Ranch. This is an older mobile home park with RV
and trailer sites offered to overnight visitors.
Facilities include open, mainly grassy sites, dump
station, phone hookups, flush toilets, laundry, and
recreation room. To get there, Drive to the junction of
U.S. Highway 77 and State Route 141. Take U.S. 77 north
for a half-mile, and then turn east onto FM 2945.
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