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