Ranch and Area History

History on The Double U Ranch and Industry, Texas

Here is a little history on The Double U Ranch.

This property is part of the original land owned by Frederick Ernst. See information on Industry and Austin County History below. We purchased the property from Bill Hajek. Based on the information we have, Bill was born and raised on this property. Unfortunately, he never got to see a lot of the work and improvements we did. Bill would have been 100 years old on 7/23/11. Happy Birthday Bill!! Hopefully, he would be proud of us.

Here is a little history on Industry, Texas.

Industry, the first German settlement west of Galveston, Texas, was founded by Fredrick Ernst. Charles Fordtran and Ernst had come from Oldenburg, Germany with the intention of going to Missouri. While in New Orleans, they heard about Stephen F. Austin's colony and decided to go to Texas instead. On April 16, 1831, Ernst received title to 4,428 acres on the Mill Creek and divided the land with Fordtran who had surveyed the land. Ernst wrote home to friends back in Oldenburg and spoke highly of Texas in his letters. These letters were widely read, as they were published in newspapers. It was these letters which Ernst wrote home, which offered advice, support, and the dream of land, that were largely responsible for the families who followed Ernst and settled in Texas. In 1838 Ernst laid out a town site. German immigrants who visited the Ernst home suggested that he make cigars from the tobacco he grew in his garden. It was the cigar-making industry, which developed in the community, that gave Industry its name. Like many other German settlements in this area of Texas, Industry grew very slowly.