{"nrhp_refnum":"66000820","name":"King Ranch","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Kingsville and its environs","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kingsville and","county":"Kenedy County","state":"TX","lat":27.52220506100008,"lon":-97.90930402699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1961-11-05","areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A very large working cattle ranch in south Texas, spread across Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy Counties, with its headquarters at Kingsville. It was founded in 1852 by Richard King on a Spanish land grant of 75,000 acres.","why_significant":"The nomination ranks King Ranch among the most outstanding and best-known cattle enterprises of the Southwestern cattle frontier. It grew from the original grant to about 1,225,000 acres, the largest ranch in the United States by the mid-20th century. Its breeding work with Shorthorn and Brahma cattle produced the Santa Gertrudis breed.","narrative":"King Ranch is a vast cattle operation in south Texas, covering parts of Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy Counties, with its business offices in Kingsville. Richard King founded it in 1852 by buying a 75,000-acre Spanish land grant on Santa Gertrudis Creek. After a partnership with Mifflin Kenedy from 1860 to 1868, the ranch passed through Robert J. Kleberg and his son, and later to King Ranch, Inc. Its herd began with Longhorns from Mexico, and Shorthorns and Herefords were added from 1893. Brahma cattle bred with Shorthorns produced the Santa Gertrudis breed. By the mid-20th century the ranch held about 1,225,000 acres, making it the largest in the country. The original headquarters area lies two miles west of Kingsville. The first ranch house burned in 1911, and the present white brick mansion and most nearby structures date from 1912. The 19th-century commissary survives. The ranch remains a working business in private ownership and has a marked loop tour for visitors.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Operating ranch in private ownership; condition rated good in 1958 and excellent in 1981, with the headquarters area maintained and the commissary being restored. A self-guided loop tour is offered to visitors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.630228-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/9709/40970955/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/66000820_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000820/c8399fdd8e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000820/c8399fdd8e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Darryn Rose","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Ranch_Main_House_4.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Darryn Rose</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Ranch_Main_House_4.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970955","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Ranch","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6411977"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/kenedy-county/king-ranch-66000820/"}