W. G. Hughes
Boerne, Kendall County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The community of Hastings was established in the late 19th century with the settlement of immigrants from England coming to farm and ranch in Texas. William George (Willy) Hughes moved from Kensington, London, to Texas in 1878 at age 19 to learn about the business of managing and marketing sheep and wool. Willy took Oxfordshire Downs Sheep from England and began to build his herds on 160 acres southwest of Boerne. His two brothers, Harry and Gerard, joined him in 1879. That same year Willy bought his second piece of land where the ranch headquarters would be built. The Hughes Ranch bred cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The ranch expanded its operations to include U.S. Mail delivery, stage line services and meals, tourism activities, and buying and selling real estate. Willy moved from sheep wool production to angora goat mohair production by 1887 and was considered an authority on angora goats. The ranch headquarters was built in 1888 and still stands off Hwy. 46. Willy married Lucy Stephenson and she began to run her own operations on the ranch. She managed a dairy operation with 35 jersey cows and managed a resort business at the ranch headquarters called “Mineral Springs Ranche.” Willy proposed a post office for the community, named Hastings Post Office after his father. It opened in 1890 in a room inside the Hughes Ranch House. That same year Willy started the Boerne and Bandera Stage Line Company which invited tourists from San Antonio and Boerne to visit the Hill Country in Bandera via the stage line. Willy provided land to Kendall County for the Hastings School and continued to support the community until his untimely death in 1902 from a train wreck in Belleville, Illinois.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William George 'Willy' Hughes left Kensington, London, for Texas in 1878 at nineteen to learn the sheep and wool trade, soon building herds of Oxfordshire Downs sheep southwest of Boerne and drawing his brothers to join him. The Hughes Ranch bred cattle, sheep, goats, and horses, and branched into mail delivery, a stage line, tourism, and real estate; by 1887 Willy had become a recognized authority on angora goats and mohair. He opened the Hastings post office in his ranch house in 1890, ran a Hill Country stage line, and gave land for a county school before his death in an 1902 train wreck.
Why it matters
Hughes typifies the English immigrants who brought capital and expertise to the Texas Hill Country, diversifying frontier ranching into wool, mohair, transportation, and early tourism.
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Related people
- · William George Hughes
- · Lucy Stephenson Hughes
Themes & tags
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