La Pryor, Texas. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

The town was named after Col. Isaac T. Pryor, who owned a large ranch here in the 1880s. Pryor split his 30,000 acres into 20-160 acre farms. The Crystal City and Uvalde Railway constructed a depot, and cattle-loading platform and prospective buyers were recruited from all over the U.S. An experimental farm south of town displayed the variety of produce that could be grown here and indeed, new residents sold their northern holdings and moved to La Pryor.

A post office was granted in 1910, the three story Nueces Hotel opened and the La Pryor High School was built in 1912. By 1914 - 500 people called La Pryor home. In the 1920s, Kate Stout made county history when she became the first woman to hold an elected office (county treasurer).

Herds of wild donkeys reportedly visited the town during droughts of the 1930s and natural gas was discovered around that same time. The population was roughly two-thirds Anglo-American and one-third Mexican-American. By 1946 the population was estimated at 500 and remained there throughout the 1950s. By 1966 it had more than doubled to an estimated 1,100 people. In 1969 the last sizable herd of cattle (800 steers) was shipped from La Pryor, ending large scale ranching. By 1970, the population was back to 550.

A new high school was built in 1977 and the population has remained at 550 throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It has since increased to the present

1,643.

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