McAllen Ranch

The McAllen Ranch has historic ties to Spanish Texas, when this region was part of Nuevo Santander, a colonial area founded by José de Escand'n along the lower Rio Grande. In 1790, José Manuel G'mez of Reynosa and Moncolova received the vast (95,000 acres) Santa Anita land grant. He built fences, worker housing, water wells at San Juanito and Santa Anita, and raised cattle, sheep, goats and horses. He wed Gregoria Ball' Domínguez, a widow with two sons, who inherited the majority of the Santa Anita. A niece, María Salom' Ball' de la Garza, also came to acquire a share of the grant. In 1848, Salom' married Matamoros merchant John Young, and they bought remaining portions of the G'mez grant, as well as additional land. Upon Young's death in 1859, Salom' managed the estate with Young's associate, Irishman John McAllen, whom she wed in 1861. They bought remaining rights in the Santa Anita, reuniting the grant. Salom''s sons, John J. Young and James Ball' McAllen, worked with John McAllen to operate the ranch, which supplied beef, tallow, hides and refuge to both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War. At one time, the family managed more than 160,000 acres. Upon Salom''s death in 1898, the two half-brothers divided the land, with Young inheriting the eastern Santa Anita portion and McAllen the western San Juanito portion, which he ran with his father as the McAllen Ranch under the SM (for Salom' Ball' McAllen) brand. James died in 1916, leaving the ranch to his widow, Margaret, and their four children. They and their descendants continued operating the ranch, which received honors as one of the oldest Texas ranches in continuous operation by the same family. (2006)