DUANE
Duane's take
Well, here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the man who gave a town its name. Now, picture this. A log house on Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas.
That's where Edward Burleson Raymond came into the world — son of N. C. Raymond, a lawyer and newspaperman of the Republic of Texas, and his wife Lucinda, née Riggs.
Not a bad pedigree for a boy who would one day have a whole county seat named after him. In 1870, E. B.
Raymond rode into South Texas on horseback. Just a man and a horse and all that open country stretching out in every direction. He herded cattle up the trail to Kansas, the way a lot of men did in those years, learning the land and the livestock both.
Then, around 1874, Richard King hired him to open El Sauz Ranch. Now, Richard King — that name carries weight in South Texas, and Raymond carried that weight for thirty-seven years, managing King-Kenedy interests across a stretch of country most men would've found overwhelming. But he wasn't just working somebody else's land.
He built a ranch of his own, too. He married Juanita Rodriguez, and together they raised two sons — Fred N. and Edward Charles. In 1893, when the El Sauz Post Office was created, Raymond was made postmaster.
He served as a school official. From 1898 to 1910, he was a commissioner of Cameron County. The man had his hands in just about everything that mattered out there.
Then came the railroad. Raymond joined other ranchers in deeding right of way for the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway, and he went a step further — he donated a station site near his Las Majadas Ranch.
Railway officials named that station in his honor. You do something like that, and your name gets attached to a place on the map. In 1904 — the very year rail service was formally inaugurated on the fourth of July — Raymond organized the Raymond Town and Improvement Company.
He was already building something. By 1907, he became president of the town's first bank. He set up a telephone exchange.
He built a cotton gin. A post office, a bank, a telephone exchange, a cotton gin, a railroad station bearing his name — this man wasn't just living in a place, he was constructing one from the ground up. And after his death, Raymondville became the seat of government for the new county of Willacy, created in 1921.
A log house on Congress Avenue to a county seat. Edward Burleson Raymond rode into South Texas on horseback in 1870, and South Texas never quite looked the same after that.
What the marker says
Founder of Raymondville. Born in a log house on Congress Avenue, Austin, son of Republic of Texas lawyer and newspaperman N. C. Raymond and wife Lucinda (Riggs), E. B. Raymond came on horseback to South Texas in 1870. After herding cattle uptrail to Kansas, he was hired about 1874 by Richard King to open El Sauz Ranch, and managed King-Kenedy interests for 37 years. He also developed a ranch of his own, married Juanita Rodrigurez, and was the father of two sons, Fred N. and Edward Charles. When El Sauz Post Office was created in 1893, he was made postmaster. He was a school official and served 1898-1910 as a commissioner of Cameron County. Joining other ranchers in deeding right of way for St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway, he also donated a station site near his Las Majadas Ranch. Railway officials named the station in his honor. In 1904, the year rail service was formally inaugurated on the fourth of July, he organized Raymond Town & Improvement Co.; in 1907, became president of town's first bank; set up telephone exchange; built cotton gin. After his death, Raymondville became seat of government for new county of Willacy, created 1921. (1974)