This busy commercial area was once part of the Allen Ranch, one of the oldest and largest ranches in southeast Texas. Part of the land was granted by Mexico to Morris Callahan in 1824 and inherited by his niece Rebecca Jane Thomas, who married Samuel William Allen in 1844. Allen acquired additional land, including a 1300-acre tract from Governor Francis R. Lubbock, and developed a prosperous cattle ranch. He helped organize Allen & Poole to ship cattle to eastern and foreign markets. In 1881, Samuel Ezekiel Allen took over the ranch from his father. He and his wife Rosa Lum built a large home near the junction of Buffalo Bayou and Sims Bayou, and he became a leading Houston businessman as well as a cattleman. When he died, his holdings included 13,000 acres in Harris County and 10,000 acres in Brazoria County. In 1917, Rosa Allen sold 700 acres to the Sinclair Oil Company for a refinery site, and the remaining land was later divided for industrial, commercial, and residential use. The ranch house was moved to Galveston Bay, where it became Camp Allen of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.