54 The LandReport | T E X A S 2 0 1 6
LANDREPORT.COM
10
H
T
E
A
S
THE
BRISCOE
CENTER
FOR
AMERICAN
HISTORY
O
nly a few American landowners can
claim ties to a British baronetcy; the
Briscoes can. The family's ancestral
holdings in Northern England date back to
the 14th century, and Crofton Hall is a his-
toric landmark. The driving force behind
the family's Texas landholdings was Dolph
Briscoe Sr. (1890–1954). The enterprising
cattleman partnered with Ross Sterling,
founder of Humble Oil and 31st governor
of Texas, and eventually cobbled together
almost 200,000 acres in South Texas. Over
the next five decades, his son, Dolph Jr.,
(1923–2010) more than doubled that. Today,
the family's Open Six brand is a feature on
the Catarina Ranch, the neighboring Carla
Ranch, the Chupadera Ranch, and additional
ranches in South Texas and Far West Texas.
Briscoe Family
560,000 acres
House Speaker Sam Rayburn (center) hauled so many bass out of a stock
pond on the Catarina Ranch that it was subsequently named for him.
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