Substation No. 14
Rocksprings, Edwards County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1914, Edwards Plateau ranchers were in a severe drought and losing sheep and goats to poisonous plants. Ranchers B.M. Halbert, V.A. Brown, R.E. Taylor and J.B. Murrah and the newly-formed Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association proposed a local experiment station. The Texas Legislature appropriated $10,000 to establish Substation No. 14 through Texas A&M University, and citizens of Edwards and Sutton counties raised additional funds to acquire 3,462 acres of the Annie and D.B. Cusenbary Ranch midway between Rocksprings and Sonora. Since its opening in 1916, work has varied from plant research and vaccines to range conservation, watershed protection and prescribed fire. Later called the Sonora Research Station, it has contributed to the ecological, economic and social well-being of the region. (2019)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When a severe drought and poisonous plants ravaged Edwards Plateau flocks in 1914, ranchers and the new Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers Association pushed for a scientific solution. The Texas Legislature funded Substation No. 14 under Texas A&M, and local citizens raised money to buy more than 3,400 acres between Rocksprings and Sonora. Opening in 1916, the station tackled everything from plant research and animal vaccines to range conservation and prescribed fire.
Why it matters
It shows how public agricultural research helped ranchers survive a harsh landscape, shaping the economy and ecology of the Texas Hill Country.
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Themes & tags
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