RANCH HISTORY

The J.D. Hudgins ranch is located in Hungerford, Texas, 50 miles southwest of Houston on U.S. Highway 59. Joel Hudgins settled in the area in 1839, and one of his sons, J.D., formed a partnership with his children in 1908 to raise commercial cattle and farm. J.D. Hudgins, Inc. grew out of that original partnership.

In the early 1900’s, as the family searched for a type of cattle which would thrive in the heat and parasites of the harsh Gulf Coast area, they turned their interest to the few humped Indian cattle which were available.

In 1915, J.D. Hudgins and his son, Walter, began putting together all of the Indian cattle they could find and afford to purchase. In that year, they bought a group of females which were direct descendants of a 1906 importation from India. In 1924, they were able to purchase a group of bulls which had been imported from Brazil. These, and other breeders’ humped cattle, formed the basis of the first breed to be developed in the United States – the American Brahman. The registry for the American Brahman breed was organized in that same year.