Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)
Publication Date
2023
College
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of
Department
History, Department of
BURS Faculty Advisor
Dr. Peter Kuryla
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
The legacy of the Wild West, known for its rugged individualism and search for new lives, is represented through the journey of Richard King and the founding of King Ranch in South Texas. This paper follows King from his humble beginnings as an orphan in New York City to his rise as the “king” of ranching. Drawing from historical accounts and analyses, the paper explores the innovations made by Richard King that would shape the face of Texas ranching amidst the challenges of the frontier and remedy environmental and logistical boundaries. King's ability to work alongside businessmen greatly benefited his course as he was able to capitalize on the Civil War era and enter into the business of transporting cotton for Confederate troops to keep his ranch afloat. His ambition led him to initiate impressive ventures such as large-scale fencing and railroad projects, forever changing the cattle industry and opening up access to distant markets. This paper follows King’s legacy as a trailblazer and entrepreneur whose commitment to innovation lives on in the still-operating King Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States to this day.
Recommended Citation
Bennett, Deb. "THE RISE OF AN EMPIRE: From horse and cattle breeding to land conservation and management, today we live in a world that the King Ranch helped to shape." EQU Iss. 499, Winter 2019. Gale General OneFile. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A608614842/ITOF?u=tel_a_belmont&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f96fc44c. Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “King Ranch: 100 Years of Ranching.” HathiTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uva.x000352120. Cushing, E. H. The Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 101, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 12, 1863, newspaper; Houston, Texas. University of North Texas Libraries. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth236599/m1/1/?q=%22King%20Ranch%22 Decker, Pat. "King Ranch: a Texas dynasty: riverboat captain Richard King got hold of some south Texas wilderness and with his equally determined wife built a ranch beyond their wildest dreams." Wild West 27, Iss. 3. October 2014. Gale General OneFile. https://link-gale-com.bunchproxy.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A376100666/ITOF?u=tel_a_belmont&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e696bf68. Dietrich, Raymond A. The Texas-Oklahoma Cattle Feeding Industry : Structure and Operational Characteristics. Vol. 1079. Texas: Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University, 1968, 1968.https://belmont.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_hathitrust_hathifiles_uiug_30112019869145&context=PC&vid=01BELMONT_INST:01BELMONT_INST_V1&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Texas%20cattle%20industry&offset=0 Givens, Murphy. “King Made a Fortune Hustling Cotton during the Civil War.” Caller-Times. https://archive.caller.com/columnists/murphy-givens/king-made-a-fortune-hustling-cotton-during-the-civil-war-0fed4b83-ad51-4460-e053-0100007f4e7b-363334131.html/ Gracy, David B. “A Cowman’s-Eye View of the Information Ecology of the Texas Cattle Industry from the Civil War to World War I.” Information & Culture 51, no. 2 (2016). http://www.jstor.org/stable/44667609. Pg. 165-166 Hastings, Frank S. A ranchman's recollections; an autobiography in which unfamiliar facts bearing upon the origin of the cattle industry in the Southwest and of the American packing business are stated, and characteristic incidents recorded. Chicago, Ill., The Breeder's Gazette, 1921. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/21021878/ Jordan, Terry G. Trails to Texas: Southern roots of western cattle ranching. University of Nebraska Press, 1981. Pg. 65. Kreneck, Thomas H., and Bruce S. Cheeseman. “Map of the Santa Gertrudis Estate, 1871: A Foundation Document of King Ranch.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 108, no. 2 (2004). http://www.jstor.org/stable/30242207. Pg. 236. "Murders on the Rio Grande." New York Times (1857-1922), Aug 30, 1872. 5, https://bunchproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/murders-on-rio-grande/docview/93289622/se-2. “Ranching & Cattle.” King Ranch, August 15, 2023. https://king-ranch.com/operations/ranching-cattle/ . Texas State Historical Association. “King, Richard.” Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/king-richard The Texas Almanac -- "Extra." (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 65, Ed. 1, Tuesday, March 10, 1863, newspaper; Austin, Texas. University of North Texas Libraries. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth78210/. Utley, Robert M. “The Range Cattle Industry in the Big Bend of Texas.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 69, no. 4 (1966): 419–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30240946. Young, Andrew Herbert. 1992. "Life and labor on the King Ranch: 1853-1900." Order No. 1349496, Texas A&I University, https://bunchproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/life-labor-on-king-ranch-1853-1900/docview/220126967/se-2.
