W.G. Hughes

William George "Willy" Hughes moved from Kensington, London, to Texas in 1878 at age 19 to learn the business of managing and marketing sheep and wool, and in the late 19th century became an important figure in the community of Hastings, which was established by immigrants from England who came to farm and ranch in Texas. He brought Oxfordshire Downs sheep from England and began building his herds on 160 acres southwest of Boerne, and in 1879 his brothers Harry and Gerard joined him as he bought a second piece of land for the future ranch headquarters. The Hughes Ranch bred cattle, sheep, goats, and horses, and later expanded into U.S. Mail delivery, stage line services and meals, tourism activities, and real estate transactions. By 1887 Willy had shifted from sheep wool production to Angora goat mohair production and was considered an authority on Angora goats. The ranch headquarters was built in 1888 and still stands off Hwy. 46. After Willy married Lucy Stephenson, she ran her own operations on the ranch, managing a dairy with 35 jersey cows and a resort business at the headquarters called “Mineral Springs Ranche.” Willy proposed a post office for the community, naming Hastings Post Office after his father, and it opened in 1890 in a room inside the Hughes Ranch House. That same year he started the Boerne and Bandera Stage Line Company, which brought tourists from San Antonio and Boerne to visit the Hill Country in Bandera by stage line. He also provided land to Kendall County for the Hastings School and supported the community until his death in 1902 in a train wreck in Belleville, Illinois.

Texas · United States