King Ranch in Texas: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
King Ranch is the best-known ranch in the United States, founded in 1853 in South Texas and reported at about 825,000 acres. It developed the Santa Gertrudis, which the USDA recognized in 1940 as the first beef breed produced in America, and it has been a National Historic Landmark since 1961.
| Location | Kingsville area, South Texas; corporate offices in Houston |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1853 |
| Sectors | cattle; Quarter Horses; farming; turfgrass; citrus; hunting; retail |
| Scale | About 825,000 acres in four divisions, as reported by Wikipedia |
| Why it is elite | Developed the Santa Gertrudis breed; National Historic Landmark (1961) |
| Ownership | Family-descended company, King Ranch, Inc. |
| Official website | King Ranch official site |
History of King Ranch
The ranch's own timeline dates its founding to 1853, when Richard King bought the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis land grant and created Rancho de Santa Gertrudes. King had arrived in Texas in 1847 to run river boat service during the Mexican War, and he sent the ranch's first cattle drive to northern markets in 1869. Wikipedia credits King and Gideon K. Lewis with founding the ranch and notes the LK brand stands for the two partners.
Growth continued through the Kleberg family after Alice Gertrudis King married Robert Justus Kleberg, Sr. in 1886. The ranch drilled the area's first successful artesian well in 1899, built its present Main House in 1915, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Later milestones include the 1998 formation of Consolidated Citrus Limited Partnership and the 2003 founding of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
What King Ranch Grows and Raises
Cattle are the core. A bull named Monkey, calved in 1920, was the foundation sire of the Santa Gertrudis breed, which came from crossing Brahman bulls with Beef Shorthorns. The USDA recognized the breed in 1940. The ranch also developed King Ranch Santa Cruz crossbred cattle in 1994, and its published timeline credits a run of practical innovations, including dipping vats against Texas Fever ticks in 1891, a root plow in 1935 and a twin tractor setup for brush clearing in 1951.
The ranch lists ranching and cattle, hunting, Quarter Horses, farming, turfgrass, citrus, King Ranch Ag and Turf, a saddle shop and licensing partnerships as its operations. Its horse program has produced the Triple Crown winner Assault, foaled in 1943, and the Quarter Horse Peppy San Badger, foaled in 1974. Wikipedia describes four divisions: Santa Gertrudis, Laureles, Encino and Norias.
How King Ranch Makes Money
Cattle and genetics
Beef cattle and the Santa Gertrudis breed anchor the ranch's identity. The ranch markets its own crossbred programs and has built a breed that other producers in hot, tick-prone country use. Selling genetics adds value beyond the commodity price of a calf.
Diversified operating businesses
The ranch publicly lists farming, turfgrass, citrus, an agricultural and turf equipment arm, hunting and a saddle shop alongside its cattle work. Several of these have their own websites, which lets each business sell to its own customers instead of relying on one market.
Visitors, licensing and horses
The ranch offers daily ranch tours, nature and special interest tours and motorcoach tours, plus a museum and special events. It also lists licensing partnerships and a Quarter Horse program. Tours and brand licensing turn a historic name into additional revenue.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from King Ranch
First, build something that is yours alone. A breed developed on the ranch, then recognized nationally, gave the operation a product and a story nobody could copy. Second, spread risk across businesses that respond to different markets: cattle, row crops, turf, citrus and visitors do not all rise and fall together.
Third, invest in the next generation of managers. The King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville shows how a large operation can feed knowledge back into the wider industry. Smaller ranches can borrow the idea through field days, mentoring and cooperative learning with extension and breed associations.
Few ranches can say they have their own breed of cow, and King Ranch can say it with a USDA stamp from 1940. Readers who enjoy a laugh about the long road from Monkey the sire to modern genetics will find plenty of farm satire at farm.FM, where farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes share a pasture with serious agriculture. We suspect even the Santa Gertrudis herd would admit that a little humor makes heat and tick season easier to bear.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact King Ranch
Website: https://king-ranch.com/
Address: King Ranch Corporate Offices, Three Riverway, Suite 1600, Houston, TX 77056
Phone: (832) 681-5700
Contact details as published on the operation's own website, November 2026. The site also offers a contact form and tour booking; confirm hours and availability before traveling.
King Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- King Ranch history - The ranch's own history page
- King Ranch on Wikipedia - Independent overview of founding, size and divisions
- Santa Gertrudis cattle - Oklahoma State University breed profile
- USDA Census of Agriculture - National and state farm and ranch statistics
- Texas Department of Agriculture - State agency overview and programs
King Ranch FAQ
When was King Ranch founded?
The ranch's own timeline dates its founding to 1853, when Richard King bought the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis land grant.
What is the Santa Gertrudis breed?
It is a beef breed developed on the ranch by crossing Brahman bulls with Beef Shorthorns. The USDA recognized it in 1940.
Can I visit King Ranch?
The ranch lists daily ranch, nature, special interest and motorcoach tours, booked through its website.
How do I contact King Ranch?
The corporate offices are in Houston at (832) 681-5700, and the website has a contact form.
King Ranch shows how a single idea, one new breed, can grow into a diversified agricultural enterprise that lasts more than 170 years. For the wider picture of Texas agriculture, programs and markets, read the state guide linked on this page and compare the other elite operations profiled alongside it.