Texas Now Magazine Presenting the "Texas Coast Experience" | Page 31

Located a few blocks from
Highway 77 in Sarita is the
Kenedy Ranch Museum of South
Texas. The beautifully restored
building was originally home to
the Kenedy Pasture Company,
where visitors can learn about
Kenedy Ranch founders Mifflin
and Petra Vela Kenedy and their
family. You will hear how they
came to be in South Texas well
before the Civil War and how their
lives were interwoven with the
history of the surrounding untamed
lands of present day Sarita, known
as the Wild Horse Desert.
For 100 years after the Civil War, the
Kenedy name would be significantly
involved in every aspect of the economic
development of South Texas with
ranching, railroads, land development
and oil. Visiting the museum you will
hear this family’s story. The last heir for
whom this tiny town was named ensured
her family would not be forgotten by
creating a lasting legacy of philanthropy
which continues today to benefit the
people of Texas.
From the early frontier settlements in Northern Mexico in the 1820’s , through
the Mexican and Civil Wars, trail drives, and the development of one of the greatest
cattle ranches in the world, Petra Vela and Mifflin Kenedy and their family helped
catapult South Texas and Mexico into the twentieth century.

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