Ellis County Rural Heritage Farm Inc
Farm Land History
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This land probably would have been native prairie in 1913 when the house was built and the land settled. But just like people don’t always have the same job their whole life, this farm would be the same. It probably was broke out of prairie and put into row crop production when it was settled and most importantly probably planted in cotton. At that time, Ellis County was in its prime of Cotton production and led the state in total bale count.
This farm would have been a good representation of production agriculture in Ellis County. There were hundreds of farmsteads like this one all around Ellis County. These families were trying to feed and clothe themselves but also trying to sell some of their crops and animals to provide cash for the family with which to pay bills.
In the early 1950’s this land probably would have been terraced with help from the United States Department of Agriculture. As cotton prices fell, some farms had to adjust again. In the late 1950’s while much of Texas was in a long and epic drought, Ellis County had a miracle cotton crop one year. This is when a lot of Ellis County families would have been able to catch up on back loans and taxes and also have some extra money to do improvements on the farm. This is when this land probably was taken out of row crop production and grass was planted with fences built around the property.
Because of the soil makeup this land is better suited for livestock production and was more profitable in this timeframe bringing it up to what you see today.