Ganado

History

The City of Ganado was a ranching community when it was first settled. Most settlers lived near Mustang Creek and traveled to Texana, Victoria and Indianola for supplies. Jackson County's "second city," Ganado was originally known as Mustang Settlement, after nearby Mustang Creek. Cattle ranching was the primary economic engine and herds were driven to Louisiana for sale and later to Kansas City. That came to an abrupt end with the coming of the railroad in 1882. As the story goes, a railroad official looked out the window of a train car and saw a large herd of cattle. He decided the area should be called Ganado, which means "cattle" in Spanish. Thus Ganado was named in 1882. Scandinavian immigrants bought land and began farming in 1891. A second wave of immigration brought Germans and Bohemians in the 1880s and 1890s. Jim McFarland moved his general store from its earlier location on McFarland Creek to a site in town. After McFarland died, Thomas Babcock-who was also the town's first postmaster, bought the remaining stock and continued a store in the building. Babcock's establishment, later known as the Old Texas House, provided supplies to local ranchers. Soon afterwards, Babcock also established the first residence and first cotton gin in Ganado. In 1891 T. N. Mauritz opened the first bank in Ganado. By 1909 the town had sixty businesses. When the railroad was built through, Ganado grew almost overnight into a bustling city. New homes, hotels, and businesses sprang up quickly. The city incorporated in 1909. By 1914 the town was thriving with a rice mill and storage facilities, 750 citizens, a school district and a weekly newspaper. By 1937, Main Street was paved, concrete sidewalks were added and water lines were installed. By 1950 the population had increased…

Geography

Ganado is located at (29.041111, –96.512136), approximately 35 miles northeast of Victoria. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  894
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  770
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  695
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  606
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  501
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  490
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  472
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  468

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-03-30
  13 km SSE of Gonzales, Texas
• M 3 — 2024-01-01
  18 km S of Gonzales, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2023-12-28
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• M 2.6 — 2022-11-01
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• M 2.5 — 2022-10-31
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• M 3.5 — 2022-10-30
  21 km E of Smiley, Texas