The 1928 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide Page: 329
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THE TEXAS ALMANAC
facing material, which is quarried in this
disti ict.
Mason is the county seat, a town of
some 1,500 population It does a retail
trade and serves as banking center for a
wide territory. The surrounding country
is noted for its clear, spring-fed st-eams,
its scenic beauty and abundance of game,
and Mason is visited by many tourists.
MATAGORDA-* Created, 1836; organ-
ized, 1837; area, 1,136 sq mi , Pop, 1920,
16,589; *1927, 20,000, Alt, 0 to 30 ft , *rain-
fall, 45 In. Situated on the Gulf Coast.
The surface is a level plain, traversed
by the Colorado River and other streams
which flow into Matagolda Bay The soils
are black waxy, black sandy, sandy and
loam. Cotton, corn, sugar cane and a va-
riety of vegetables are produced and there
are about 60,000 acres of rice fields under
iii igation It is one of the great rice
producing aleas of the United States, and
there is an annual shipment of spinach
and white potatoes to outside markets.
There is a rapidly expanding fig glowing
and canning industry.
The level coastal plain is covered with
a rich carpet of grass and there is a great
cattle range Matagorda County claims
more cattle than any other county in the
United States, there is also a limited
sheep, goat, hog and daiiy industry.
The natural resources of the county are
great and valued Oil fields have been
producing for many years At Gulf,
twenty miles distant from Ilay City, is
one of the two greatest sulphur mines in
the world, operating with an investment
of more than $20,000,000, and supplying
about 30 per cent of the voi old's sulphur
supply.
The timber resources are large The
bottom lands are covered with a mer-
chantable growth of ash, cedar and vari-
ous hardwoods, and theie are several
mills turning out ash timbers for handle
factories.
Some of the greatest fishing grounds on
the Gulf coast are off the Matagorda
coast and there aie large annual catches
of fish and oysters amounting to hundreds
of thousands of dollars
In addition to excellent railroad facili-
ties the Intracoastal canal parallels the
Matagorda coast, furnishing a light daft
waterway to Galveston, Houston and
Corpus Christi. There are more than 100
miles of shell and gravel roads in the
county and a bond issue of $3,000,000 was
voted in 1927 for paving.
The gieat raft of the ColoIado River
lies largely in Matagorda County and this
county has been granted a remission of
taxes due the State for a period of twen-
ty-five years for the purpose of dredging
this channel and erecting reclamation
levees
Bay" City, the county seat, is a city of
about 4,500 population, situated at the
intersection of the Santa Fe and the Mis-
souri Pacific. Collegeport and Palacios
are bayside resorts. Matagorda and Sar-
gent, located in this county, are among
the oldest settlements in Texas.
M1AVERICK-*Created, 1856; organized,
1871; area, 1,251 sq. mi ; Pop, 1920, 7,418;
*1927, 8,000; Alt., 800 ft.; *rainfall, 21 in.
Situated in Southwest Texas.
A rolling contour, with several attrac-
tive valleys near the Rio Grande, con-
taining about 75,000 acres of irrigableland. Principal soil types are dark sandy
loam, a rich silt and a clay loan, all of
which are very productive.
Heretofore most of the county has been
devoted mainly to stock raising, cattle,
sheep and goats With the construction
of 60,000-acre gravity irrigation system,
for which $4,800,000 of bonds have been
voted, this land will be developed into
pr oductive farms While doubtless part
of this acreage will be put into truck
crops, it is probable that the major part
will be utilized for the growing of staple
crops, such as alfalfa, sorghums, cotton
and developments in poultry, dairying,
stock attending and fruits. Citrus is not
thoroughly tested, but will probably be
gown to some extent Pecans and wal-
nuts will pi obably be planted heavily
later. At present some 1,500 acres of
onions, spinach and other tuck crops are
grown annually
The uplands of this county are devoted
to the live stock industries Cattle rats-
ing, for many years the principal indus-
try, is giving away gradually to the
sheep and goat raising business.
A sub-bituminous coal is found in many
sections of this county and there are one
or two producing mines. Gas and oil
have been found, but thee is no appre-
ciable development
Eagle Pass is the principal city and
county seat It has a population of about
6,000 It serves a veiy wide teiritoIy
along the border as market and shipping
point A new international bridge has re-
cently been built connecting Eagle Pass
with Piedras Negras in Mexico.
3 cCULLOCH-*Created, 1856, organized,
1876, alea, 1,074 sq. mi ; Pop., 1920, 11,020,
1927, 15,000, Alt, 1,700 ft.; *rainfall, 26
in Situated in West Texas.
The general surface of the land is roll-
ing hills with numerous fertile valleys.
There are some mountain ranges crossing
the county from east to west, but the
greater part of the county is covered with
black loam in the Brady and Lohn Creek
Valleys and a dark sandy soil in the up-
lands. In the southeastern part of the
county, along the San Saba River, is
found a deep sandy soil which has proven
very productive for fruits and vegetables.
The hills are covered with postoak, live
oak and grass enough to be excellent
grazing land. The valleys have mesquite,
live oak and pecan trees, and furnish
splendid grass
Cotton and grain are the leading crops.
Peaches, pears, plums, cabbage, lettuce,
tomatoes, potatoes, spinach and almost
every other kind of vegetable is grown
here on a small scale, and marketed lo-
cally. Much canning is being done by the
housewives throughout the county. In the
southern part of the county are several
irrigated farms which produce good
quantities of vegetables.
Live stock has always been one of the
most important industries of MeCulloch
County, but in recent years diversified
farm crops have been added. There are
about 100,000 cattle, 100,000 sheep, 50,000
goats. About 500,000 pounds wool and
85,000 pounds mohair are produced an-
nually. Other products in 1927 included
$20,000 of cream, $500,000 of turkeys and
350,000 pounds of chickens, 600,000 dozen
*See page 358 for explanatory notes and references
to additional information on counties and cities.
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The 1928 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide, book, 1928~; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123786/m1/332/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.