Fox Creek Gate Tilden, Texas - Apr 21 & 22

Sunday, April 21, 2013
Fox Creek Gate Tilden, Texas - 54 degrees sunny this morning to sunny 89 degrees.
NASCAR Sunday - Kansas; slow gate traffic today more time to watch the race.


Monday, April 22, 2013
Fox Creek Gate Tilden, Texas - 64 degrees cloudy this morning burning off slowly to partly sunny 89 degrees. Over night we had some wind gusts that were rocking Buster form time to time.

The crew working the pad close to Buster finished their work early this morning. Otherwise a slow morning. Bonnie went into Pleasanton today for water shopping and a haircut. On the return trip she stopped at another "gate" to talk with the guard, working for a different company and a much busier "gate" (high traffic) along Franklin Ranch Road.

This sign is on the right as you turn onto the road

Franklin Ranch Road marker - Ranch founder, Ralph S. "Rafe" Franklin, was born in Louisiana, April 4, 1848. He came to McMullen County in the early 1860's with his family. He started this ranch about 1870, building it up until he owned 40,000 acres, one of the largest holdings in this area. On Nov. 4, 1870, he married Minerva Holland; their children were: Murray; Buddy; R.S. Jr.; Green; Felix; Chapman; Amy; Claude; Tom; John; Margaret; Sam; Julius. The ranch headquartered on San Miguel Creek. In 1913, the present ranch home was built at the same location. It was a travelers' refuge; relatives and friends from near and far visited often to attend parties, dances, picnics and other social gatherings. For a short time Franklin ran sheep and goats but changed to cattle. In 1902, he purchased a herd of black Angus, the first in this part of the country. The old "San Antonio-Laredo Stage Road" traverses ranch, crossing San Miguel Creek below ranch home. During the Civil War much cotton passed over this road headed for the Mexican border. The Franklins were pioneers in truest sense--few were more dynamic than they in early McMullen County development. "Rafe" Franklin died March 14, 1913. 1967.

Coming south on SR 16 from Jourdanton we cross San Miguel Creek before turning onto Franklin Ranch Road, still a dirt road and going all the way to SR 97 in the west.