“Other states are carved or born; Texas grew from hide and horn.”
— Bertha Hart Nance, 1932

Texas ranching has a long, storied history, dating back to Christopher Columbus’ second visit to Hispaniola. He brought with him a herd of cattle, who would go on to become the ancestors of the Texas Longhorn cattle we all know and love today.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, cattle ranching grew throughout Mexico and up into what’s now the state of Texas. Several thousand cattle were raised in the El Paso area, the first Texas ranch. Spanish missionaries owned the ranches, which were worked by vaqueros — think of them like independent contractors with their own horses, saddles, and gear. Privately owned ranches didn’t crop up until the 18th century.

The missionary ranches were decimated by the Mexican War for Independence in the early 1800s. This left room for Anglos to come in and take over the land and the cattle. They brought cows from the east with them. Their cattle mated with the Spanish cattle, and the Longhorn was born.

In 1845, the U.S. annexed Texas, opening large tracts of land for railroads and new cities. The rise in demand for beef was growing throughout the nation, especially in the north and along the Gulf of Mexico. It was around this time that the cowboys we know today came into existence, working as employees of the ranchers.

Men weren’t the only ones owning and working the ranches. One famous example is a former slave named Julia Blanks, who pitched in with roundups, planted and harvested crops, raised animals, and helped with cooking during roundups on the Adams Ranch.

Her daughters came right along with her. Julia said, “My oldest girl used to take the place of a cowboy, and put her hair up in her hat. And ride! My goodness, she loved to ride."

Margaret Borland became the owner of the Victoria ranch after her husband passed. She had 8,000 longhorns in her herd. Six years later, she’d grown the herd to 10,000. Come 1873, Margaret became the first female to lead a cattle drive, taking 2,500 Longhorns, her three kids, and several cowboys along the Chisholm Trail to Kansas.

Recently, ranches have adopted new ways to bring in income, since the cost of cattle and maintaining the land has increased. The historic YO Ranch leased out some of its land for hunting and outdoor sports. The Matador Ranch followed shortly after that.

This past spring, the last ‘grande dame’ of Texas ranching passed on. And last month, one of the last remaining ranching ‘empires’ went on the chopping block.

I call it a chopping block because here in Texas, too many of our great, historic ranches have been sold to the highest bidder — typically someone who lives outside the country, let alone outside the state — and chopped up into small pieces. The land and its resources have been plumbed until nothing that’s worth anything remains. A crucial component of our Texas heritage and history has been wiped away.

The sad fate of a place I considered to be a bit of Texas heaven has inspired this story and the series — the Texas Heritage series.

In the first book, The Texas Cowboy's Proposal, we meet the two granddaughters of Sarah McNamara Burkitt...Laurel and Sammi Jo, who’s the heroine of this first book. She has just been handed a gut-wrenching blow when her older sister shared the details of their grandmother’s will.

What part of your heritage has an impact on your life today?