McAllen Ranch
Linn, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The McAllen Ranch has historic ties to Spanish Texas, when this region was part of Nuevo Santander, a colonial area founded by José de Escandón along the lower Rio Grande. In 1790, José Manuel Gómez 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 Ballí Domínguez, a widow with two sons, who inherited the majority of the Santa Anita. A niece, María Salomé Ballí de la Garza, also came to acquire a share of the grant. In 1848, Salomé married Matamoros merchant John Young, and they bought remaining portions of the Gómez grant, as well as additional land. Upon Young's death in 1859, Salomé 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. Salomé's sons, John J. Young and James Ballí 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 Salomé'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 Salomé Ballí 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)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The McAllen Ranch reaches back to Spanish colonial Texas, when José de Escandón's Nuevo Santander opened the lower Rio Grande and José Manuel Gómez received the vast 95,000-acre Santa Anita grant in 1790. Through marriages and shrewd purchases, the grant passed to María Salomé Ballí, who with Irish immigrant John McAllen reunited and expanded the holdings to more than 160,000 acres, supplying beef and hides—and refuge—to both sides during the Civil War. Run under the SM brand by her descendants, it became one of the oldest Texas ranches in continuous family operation.
Why it matters
The ranch embodies the Spanish and Mexican land-grant roots of South Texas and the enduring Tejano ranching heritage that predates and outlasted the American frontier.
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Related people
- · José Manuel Gómez
- · María Salomé Ballí
- · John McAllen
- · José de Escandón
Themes & tags
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