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This area located west of Floresville was one of the largest ranches in the cattle-driving era. During the 1700s and 1800s, the area, being prime cattle ranch land, dominated the pre-Wilson County economy and served as a gathering point of small herds creating larger herds to trail up north. In 1731, the meadowland west of the San Antonio River was owned by Mission Espada with the ranch headquarters being the compound of Rancho de Las Cabras. In 1874, John F. Camp purchased and began developing the prairie ranch land. By 1904, Camp's ranch, having increased size to approximately 10,000 acres, was sold to S.V. Houston, H.S. Tom and William Green. The new owners were land developers and began dividing the ranch into smaller acreage tracts to settlers from surrounding counties. Then the small, prosperous Camp Ranch community, named after John F. Camp, began to develop as twenty families moved to the area. To encourage additional development, the new landowners built a one-room school house known as Green School. Later, a larger school was built named Camp Ranch School. Other additions were the Evergreen Cemetery, dance platform, Evergreen Shooting Club and baseball field. Around 1912, resident Charley Boening added a filling station, garage, general repair shop and grocery store. Although many of these tangible reminders of the town have been lost to time, the Evergreen Cemetery remains as a connection to the Camp Ranch community heritage. (2017) |
