By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Frederick and Louise Hamilton accept the Family Land Heritage certificate for their Harris County farm from Texas Ag Commissioner Susan Combs.    — Courtesy photo

March 30, 2006 - When Louise (Webb) and Frederick Hamilton first moved to the Pine Acres Ranch in 1945, Louise said the hardest part was “fitting in,” since many of the residents thought they were just “young, city ‘whipper-snappers’” who would never make it in the country. Obviously, they’ve proven all of the “nay-sayers” wrong!

The Hamiltons have actually operated the ranch since 1939, while Frederick was a school principal in Liberty and Louise was a teacher. When WWII called, Frederick served his country in the Air Force, so Louise was responsible for the complete operation during that time. While he was serving in the military, he wrote back that he didn’t think he would be able to go back to being a principal, after all he’d witnessed during the war.

Louise explained to him that “as long as he got home safely, she’d live anywhere he wanted to!” Fortunately, he came home and in 1945 the couple made the ranch their full-time residence.

It all started back in 1898 when Louise’s grandfather, Nelson Webb, a station master in Bement, Ill., saw a brochure from M.K.T. Railroad that described a piece of land for sale in Texas. After making the trip by rail, Webb purchased the 640 acres (then measured by Mexican varos) for $10 per acre.

This house is part of the original home built in 1898 by the farm’s founders, Nelson and Emma Webb. — Courtesy photo

Webb then moved his family from Illinois to Texas and built a large home that is still being used by one of the ranch hands, although the top floor and some of the first floor were removed.

The land Webb purchased was a Spanish land grant given by the State of Texas to George Dedrick who fought and died at the Battle of Goliad in 1836, explained Louise. Her grandfather had purchased the land from Dedrick’s daughter and in 1958, when the land was surveyed; it turned out to be 650 acres, rather than the original 640 acres measured by the Spanish.

By 1904, Otto Webb, one of Nelson’s sons, had acquired the ranch and raised cattle and hay. After he died of the flu, his brother Roy Dayton Webb became the owner and continued the ranching operation. Roy married Harriett Kramer and they were the parents of today’s owner, Louise.

“My parents struggled to hold on the ranch during the Depression, as we did right after WWII, but it has always been very dear to our family,” noted Louise.

Louise and Frederick had a dairy on the property until 1972 and later raised beef cattle, peanuts, and feed. In 1939, the family planted 6,000 pine seedlings, many of which are still standing. The trees helped shelter the cattle from ice storms, said Louise.

Today, Santa Gertrudis and Charolais cattle, feed, hay, and blueberries are raised on the Pine Acres Ranch.

Louise and Frederick have two children; daughter Jane (Hamilton) Roberson, and son Frederick Roy Hamilton. Both have families and live in the area and are involved in the ranch, said Louise. They are hopeful that one of the grandchildren will be ready to move to the ranch, once Louise and Frederick, both 88-years-old and still very active in their Methodist church and the Lions Club, are no longer able to handle the operation.

They have been active in the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, National Cattlemen’s Association, and the South Texas Milk Producers Association. Fred was the original director of the Harris County Farm Bureau and an “original vice-president and director of the Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union, Louise cited about her husband. In the Cypress Fairbanks ISD, there is a school, the Fred and Louise Hamilton Elementary School, named in their honor.

While Louise explained they have had a wonderful life and given their children and grandchildren the opportunity to grow up with some country ethics, the family has been fighting against the Harris County Toll Road development for several years, since it could take up to 75 of the acres for the road, said Louise.

For now, the Hamilton family plans to continue enjoying the ranch life and is forever thankful that Louise’s grandfather, Nelson Webb, decided to leave Illinois and move his family to Texas.