James Edmund Ranck was born September 11, 1832, in Wayne County, Indiana. His father died one year later, and his mother married a Bridges. James grew up with his Bridges siblings, receiving a more adequate education than many of that day.
Delicate health and other circumstances brought Ranck to San Antonio, Texas, as a young man. By happenstance, he went to see a Doctor Herff, almost certainly Ferdinand Herff who was associated with the ill-conceived Bettina commune in Llano County in the 1840s. The doctor suggested the healthier, drier conditions of the Mason area. Arriving around 1859, Ranck made this his home, devoting his life to helping Mason reach a high potential.
With the coming of the Civil War and the departure of Federal troops for the East, there was an upsurge of Indian depredations. The governor of Texas ordered a line of frontier ranger camps to be slung from the Red River to the Rio Grande in early 1862. In March of that year, two of those sites established were Camp McMillan in western San Saba County and Camp San Saba in McCulloch County. Ranck signed on to serve at Camp McMillan for a year and then at Camp San Saba for the next. Health problems dictated that he be at the latter for only eight months, but he served the ranger camps far longer than most. In addition to usual duties, he also served as judge advocate at several courts-martial. If this area was to thrive, it must be safe for the settlers coming in, and he was willing to do his part.
The war over, he brought in his extended family from Indiana — the Bridges and Lorings among others. They came with polish, education, and some wealth. They helped the area thrive with their interests and skills. Ranck's energy and dedication ensured his thriving mercantile business from the early days. He had many interests: a new public school in Mason about 1868; undergirding of the cattle industry; loans for those needing support; money given and encouraged from others for the coming of a railroad and for a freezer plant in Houston, a promise of another market for Mason County cattle; and the building of mills for local crops. All his concerns did not thrive, and his mills burned in 1892.
Still he planned for the future. Then, on August 26, 1892, he died in his sleep, 59 years old. His tombstone honors him as the "Father of Mason," and so do we. A Texas Ranger, visionary, businessman, benefactor, and friend.
Delicate health and other circumstances brought Ranck to San Antonio, Texas, as a young man. By happenstance, he went to see a Doctor Herff, almost certainly Ferdinand Herff who was associated with the ill-conceived Bettina commune in Llano County in the 1840s. The doctor suggested the healthier, drier conditions of the Mason area. Arriving around 1859, Ranck made this his home, devoting his life to helping Mason reach a high potential.
With the coming of the Civil War and the departure of Federal troops for the East, there was an upsurge of Indian depredations. The governor of Texas ordered a line of frontier ranger camps to be slung from the Red River to the Rio Grande in early 1862. In March of that year, two of those sites established were Camp McMillan in western San Saba County and Camp San Saba in McCulloch County. Ranck signed on to serve at Camp McMillan for a year and then at Camp San Saba for the next. Health problems dictated that he be at the latter for only eight months, but he served the ranger camps far longer than most. In addition to usual duties, he also served as judge advocate at several courts-martial. If this area was to thrive, it must be safe for the settlers coming in, and he was willing to do his part.
The war over, he brought in his extended family from Indiana — the Bridges and Lorings among others. They came with polish, education, and some wealth. They helped the area thrive with their interests and skills. Ranck's energy and dedication ensured his thriving mercantile business from the early days. He had many interests: a new public school in Mason about 1868; undergirding of the cattle industry; loans for those needing support; money given and encouraged from others for the coming of a railroad and for a freezer plant in Houston, a promise of another market for Mason County cattle; and the building of mills for local crops. All his concerns did not thrive, and his mills burned in 1892.
Still he planned for the future. Then, on August 26, 1892, he died in his sleep, 59 years old. His tombstone honors him as the "Father of Mason," and so do we. A Texas Ranger, visionary, businessman, benefactor, and friend.
James Edmund Ranck was born September 11, 1832, in Wayne County, Indiana. His father died one year later, and his mother married a Bridges. James grew up with his Bridges siblings, receiving a more adequate education than many of that day.
Delicate health and other circumstances brought Ranck to San Antonio, Texas, as a young man. By happenstance, he went to see a Doctor Herff, almost certainly Ferdinand Herff who was associated with the ill-conceived Bettina commune in Llano County in the 1840s. The doctor suggested the healthier, drier conditions of the Mason area. Arriving around 1859, Ranck made this his home, devoting his life to helping Mason reach a high potential.
With the coming of the Civil War and the departure of Federal troops for the East, there was an upsurge of Indian depredations. The governor of Texas ordered a line of frontier ranger camps to be slung from the Red River to the Rio Grande in early 1862. In March of that year, two of those sites established were Camp McMillan in western San Saba County and Camp San Saba in McCulloch County. Ranck signed on to serve at Camp McMillan for a year and then at Camp San Saba for the next. Health problems dictated that he be at the latter for only eight months, but he served the ranger camps far longer than most. In addition to usual duties, he also served as judge advocate at several courts-martial. If this area was to thrive, it must be safe for the settlers coming in, and he was willing to do his part.
The war over, he brought in his extended family from Indiana — the Bridges and Lorings among others. They came with polish, education, and some wealth. They helped the area thrive with their interests and skills. Ranck's energy and dedication ensured his thriving mercantile business from the early days. He had many interests: a new public school in Mason about 1868; undergirding of the cattle industry; loans for those needing support; money given and encouraged from others for the coming of a railroad and for a freezer plant in Houston, a promise of another market for Mason County cattle; and the building of mills for local crops. All his concerns did not thrive, and his mills burned in 1892.
Still he planned for the future. Then, on August 26, 1892, he died in his sleep, 59 years old. His tombstone honors him as the "Father of Mason," and so do we. A Texas Ranger, visionary, businessman, benefactor, and friend.
Delicate health and other circumstances brought Ranck to San Antonio, Texas, as a young man. By happenstance, he went to see a Doctor Herff, almost certainly Ferdinand Herff who was associated with the ill-conceived Bettina commune in Llano County in the 1840s. The doctor suggested the healthier, drier conditions of the Mason area. Arriving around 1859, Ranck made this his home, devoting his life to helping Mason reach a high potential.
With the coming of the Civil War and the departure of Federal troops for the East, there was an upsurge of Indian depredations. The governor of Texas ordered a line of frontier ranger camps to be slung from the Red River to the Rio Grande in early 1862. In March of that year, two of those sites established were Camp McMillan in western San Saba County and Camp San Saba in McCulloch County. Ranck signed on to serve at Camp McMillan for a year and then at Camp San Saba for the next. Health problems dictated that he be at the latter for only eight months, but he served the ranger camps far longer than most. In addition to usual duties, he also served as judge advocate at several courts-martial. If this area was to thrive, it must be safe for the settlers coming in, and he was willing to do his part.
The war over, he brought in his extended family from Indiana — the Bridges and Lorings among others. They came with polish, education, and some wealth. They helped the area thrive with their interests and skills. Ranck's energy and dedication ensured his thriving mercantile business from the early days. He had many interests: a new public school in Mason about 1868; undergirding of the cattle industry; loans for those needing support; money given and encouraged from others for the coming of a railroad and for a freezer plant in Houston, a promise of another market for Mason County cattle; and the building of mills for local crops. All his concerns did not thrive, and his mills burned in 1892.
Still he planned for the future. Then, on August 26, 1892, he died in his sleep, 59 years old. His tombstone honors him as the "Father of Mason," and so do we. A Texas Ranger, visionary, businessman, benefactor, and friend.
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