DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Site of Lubbock Ranch, out here in Harris County. Now, some men leave a mark on a place. Francis Richard Lubbock left a mark on an entire state — and the story starts, as so many Texas stories do, with a young man arriving in Houston with ambition to burn.
Lubbock was born in South Carolina in 1815, and by 1837 he was already in Houston. He was twenty-two years old, and he wasn't wasting any time. That same year — 1837 — he opened a general store and took his seat as clerk of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives.
Before that year was out, he had stepped into the role of comptroller of public accounts, a post he held until 1839. Not a bad start for a man just getting acquainted with the place. Now from 1841 to 1857 he served as district clerk of Harris County, and here's where the ranch story really gets its legs.
See, Lubbock had a habit of accepting payment in a particular form — a few cows here, some pigs, a handful of sheep. You might call it unconventional bookkeeping. And over time, those animals multiplied into large herds grazing across his lands between the Brazos and Trinity rivers.
He and his first wife, Adele — born a Baron — settled onto their 1,300-acre ranch right near this very site in 1846, and they lived there together until 1861. To get his cattle to market, Lubbock loaded them onto steamships at the mouth of Sims Bayou and shipped them all the way to New Orleans. That is a long ride for a longhorn.
But here is the detail that stops people cold. In 1858, forty camels grazed on the Lubbock Ranch. Forty.
Camels. In Harris County, Texas. They were there before being driven west for use by the United States War Department in desert transportation.
So if you ever needed proof that Texas history is stranger than fiction, there it is — a future governor watching a small herd of camels wander through his pastures. And that governorship was coming. Lubbock served as lieutenant governor from 1857 to 1859, and then as governor of Texas from 1861 to 1863, right through the heart of the Civil War.
When his term ended, he didn't step back — he stepped into Confederate military service, earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and serving in the Red River campaign. Then in 1864 he left Texas entirely to serve on the staff of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia. He was with Davis at the end.
When Davis was captured in 1865, Lubbock was captured right alongside him, and he spent the next eight months imprisoned at Fort Delaware. Eight months. Then he came home.
And even that wasn't the end of his public life. Francis R. Lubbock served as Texas state treasurer from 1879 all the way to 1891, remaining active in public service until the age of eighty.
He spent his last years in Austin, and that is where he is buried — in the Texas State Cemetery. He was born in 1815. He died in 1905.
Ninety years of living, and he filled just about every one of them. From a general store in a young republic, to camels in the pasture, to the staff of a Confederate president, to the state treasurer's office — Francis Richard Lubbock saw Texas grow up, and Texas watched him do the same.
What the marker says
Texas statesman Francis Richard Lubbock (1815-1905) owned a 1300-acre ranch near this site. A native of South Carolina, Lubbock came to Houston in 1837. He soon opened a general store and was a business, political and civic leader. He served as clerk of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives in 1837 and as comptroller of public accounts from late 1837 to 1839. Lubbock and his first wife Adele (Baron) lived on their ranch here from 1846 to 1861. Beginning with a few cows, pigs and sheep accepted as payment while he was district clerk of Harris County (1841-1857), Lubbock built up large herds that grazed on his lands between the Brazos and Trinity rivers. Cattle were loaded onto steamships at the mouth of Sims Bayou and shipped to New Orleans to market. In 1858, forty camels grazed on the Lubbock Ranch before being driven west to be used by the United States War Department in desert transportation. Francis R. Lubbock served as lieutenant governor of Texas from 1857 to 1859, and governor from 1861 to 1863 during the Civil War. He entered Confederate military service at the end of his term as governor, and served as a Lt. Colonel in the Red River campaign. Lubbock left Texas in 1864 to serve on the staff of Confederate president Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia. Captured with Davis at the end of the war in 1865, he was imprisoned for eight months at Fort Delaware. Former governor Lubbock served as Texas state treasurer from 1879 to 1891. He remained active in public service until the age of 80, and spent his last years in Austin, where he is buried in the Texas State Cemetery. (1970, 2001)