The Jackson Brothers Ranch

Photo Courtesy of Vandell Cobb, Ebony Magazine 1982

After the death of John Henry "Double Bayou John" Jackson his sons, Felix, Arthur Antonio, and Ocie, formed the Jackson Brothers Ranch on the 10,000 acres left to them by their dad. They purchased another 4,000 acres from their cousin, Ralph James Barrow, according to the arrangement Double Bayou John made with his nephew before his death. In the years that followed, it would be on this land that the majority of the oil was discovered. The Jackson's oil field was called Oyster Bayou. 

Although, the Oyster Bayou oil field at times generated more than $10,000 a day from its thirty-nine wells those riches never corrupted John Jackson's sons. Felix, Arthur A., and Ocie spent their lives on the family land, kept on raising cattle, and donated money to colleges and local charities. Folks said the Jackson's did their giving the Bible way, without letting their right hand know what their left hand was doing.

Photo Courtesy of Vandell Cobb, Ebony Magazine 1982

Ocie Jackson, youngest of John's sons stated in a 1991 interview, "I learned most of my cowboy skills from my older brother, Arthur, who was Quinten and Arthur T's daddy. He was the one who took a real interest in the ranch. My middle brother, Felix, wasn't too interested in cattle and horses." Ocie said he only saw Felix ride one time and that was when Arthur challenged him to do so. He rode just fine but preferred his chosen trade,

Arthur Antonio was talented in the tailor's trade as well as the ranching business, for he also had a little tailor's shop, perhaps picking up the trade after his brother's death. 

Felix left instructions that his portion of the Jackson Brothers Ranch was to be divided equally between his surviving brothers, Arthur Antonio and Ocie. Arthur A. died in 1953 a short five years after Felix, and Ocie took over as manager of the Jackson Brother’s Ranch. Arthur had appointed Ocie as guardian of his part of the estate, upon his death, with instructions it would be turned over to his sons when they were ready to take the reins. 

 Ocie said of his mother, Charlotte Lewis, “Mama Charlotte couldn’t read or write, but she was smart enough to keep my father.” Ocie mentions the fact that his mother gave birth to all five of John’s children. He was faithful to only her.  

Like all ranchers in the area, the Jackson Brothers worked the cattle during the fall season. Ebony Magazine was there to witness the activity in 1982. They wrote, “With the arrival of the fall season, Felix and Owen are joined by their brothers, who have taken off from their jobs in Houston 60 miles away to help with the spraying, branding, castration, and separation of the cattle. 

Photo Courtesy of Vandell Cobb, Ebony Magazine 1982

To the untrained eye the whole operation looks professional—lightweight and heavyweight boys and men corralling and upending the animals with equal skill. Yet in the estimation of veteran J. D. (Elvie) Lewis they need the most serious drills. “Don’t let that calf get away . . . get him . . . get him . . . Ah—you waited too late! Now watch how that cowboy handles him . . . look . . . look at that cowboy . . .” He is referring to Felix.” J. D. Lewis worked full time on the Jackson Brothers Ranch for most of his life and had been working there for 40 years at the time of the interview and continued until his death. 

Quinten Lowell Jackson, son of Arthur Antonio Jackson, had a love for the land and livestock. Ten years younger than his youngest sibling, he took over much of the operation of the ranch once his parents started slowing down. 

He wed Georgiann Guyder, 16 April 1954, in Ohio after returning from the service, and together they had 3 children: Sabrina Angela, Karla Rosalind, and Quinten Lowell, Jr. Together they made their home on the Arthur A. Jackson homestead. 

He firmly believed that if you were fortunate enough to inherit land, then it became your responsibility to take care of it, conserve it, make it productive, and leave it better for the future generations. 

“He had a way of communicating with people but an even nicer way of communicating with his animals. He loved his horses and his cattle and could ride the ranch on Cameo, from dawn ‘til dusk and never complain. Morning sunrise never came too soon, and the darkened night always brought the silver stars shining down from Heaven. Daddy rarely went anywhere without his rope by his side, his Colt six-shooter in his back pants, and his Smith & Wesson on his hip. He was a man of great character and faith. There was always a twinkle in his eye and that special smile on his face. He never met a stranger, and he always had that wide-open wave to every passerby,” said Karla with pride.

Quinten was continuously developing his pastures and following governmental policies. He was elected to the Soil and Water Conservation District 434 and was an active board member for twenty years. He was a life member of The Cattleman’s Association, The Independent Cattlemen’s Association, The Quarter Horse Association, and Duck’s Unlimited. He was a member of the Anahuac Hospital Board, a mason, and a member to The Episcopal Church in Anahuac for forty years. Quinten died of cancer on May 6, 1995.

Karla Jackson Dean, daughter of Quinten Lowell Jackson, Sr., along with her husband Clay, runs cattle and manages her portion, of the Arthur Antonio Jackson estate, under the brand of the Four Apple Cross. 

There were times when colder than normal fronts would bring freezing temperatures from the north to the otherwise mild climate of the south. Such was the case in the spring of 1923. Ralph reports that most of the cattle had been brought out of the marsh and put into the open upper pasture. “A sudden severe freezing rain drove in from the north,” wrote Ralph. “The cattle in the upper pasture drifted into the middle fence as they sought to escape the fury of the storm and froze to death when they could no longer keep moving with the wind. As those in front froze and went down those behind clambered over their bodies until they too struck the fence and collapsed. The next morning between twenty-three and twenty-four hundred head of cattle were dead in one corner of the fence, their bodies stacked, one on top of the other, higher than the fence posts.

“The only possible salvage was in the hides of the frozen cattle. So, as soon as the storm abated, all cowhands, men and boys, capable of wielding a skinning knife rode into the pasture to skin cattle. The work started at dawn and continued all day until the warming weather started rotting the hides. A wagon drawn by a team of mules carried the cold lunches for the skinning crew and a supply of firewood. Two men worked with the crew unstacking the carcasses and dragging them to an open spot where the skinners would have room to work. These two men kept a fire going to warm the numbed hands of the skinners and also sharpened the knives as they became dull. Each skinner carried a wagon spoke club with which to beat the carcass of the animal to loosen the frozen hide. The front legs and shoulder were skinned out with knives, and then men with the team of mules finished the job by driving the horns of the cow into the ground as an anchor, and then hooking the team to the loosened portion of hide they were able to peel the remainder of the hide from the carcass by one steady pull by the mules. The hides were loaded into the wagon and hauled to the ranch house, where each hide was spread on the floor of the buggy house, salted, and rolled into a tight bundle for shipment to Galveston on the next boat. This was hard and tiresome work, but very important, as the return on twenty hides was usually about enough to buy one cow for the new herd.”

Ralph wrote that in the spring all ranch activity increased as the cattle were gathered and worked and the fences, troughs, and other equipment repaired. “Late spring was roundup time—a time of excitement for a small boy,” wrote Ralph.” "As soon as it was light enough to see, all hands congregated at the round pen, where the horses were waiting. The order in which the horses were roped from the pen was governed by a rigid priority system. Monte Humphrey, the old colored foreman, would step first to the center of the pen with the noose of his rope open in his right hand and the coils held loosely in his left. As he started to twirl the noose slowly around his head the horses would crowd to the circular fence and start running around and around the roper, who continued to turn slowly on his heels, all the while whirling the rope over his head until he saw the head of Dad’s horse in the clear,” explained Ralph. “Then with one quick step forward and a graceful throw of the rope he sent the noose floating high for a second before settling over the head of the selected horse. Dad would step to the center of the pen, slip the bridle on, and lead his horse to the saddle house. Then Monte roped his own horse, and after that each hand roped his horse in turn according to his seniority as cowhand on the ranch.” Ralph lists a few: Fred Johnson, Jim Fish, and Pal Mayes. Once the horses were saddled, they would trot off towards the bottom of the pasture with Guy Cade and Montie leading the way.

Guy Cade Jackson, Sr. managed the ranch until he began to divide his time between the ranch and San Antonio. He had built a home there due to his wife’s health condition and also for the educational benefits for his daughters. He still maintained management of the ranch, but as he aged he handed the reins of the operation over to his oldest son, James Bert Jackson.

Jim Bob wrote in his book JHK Ranch, that there was about 22,000 acres in the JHK Ranch during the time James Bert managed it. Rice was grown in the upland pastures which were also used as hayfields. “The largest pasture we had was the salt grass pasture which had about 10,000 acres and lay west of Oyster Bayou and north of East Bay,” wrote Jim Bob. “We put the cattle into this pasture about October or November, as the salt grass would not freeze back and was a superior feed.  During that time there were 5-6 weeks of constant working of cattle.”  Many other major ranchers in the area drove their cattle to the Jacksons’ winter pasture as well: Fitzgerald’s Middleton’s, and Mayes’ to name a few. 

There is much more to be written of the JHK Ranch that space will not allow. I encourage you to read Ralph Semmes Jackson’s wonderful book, Home on the Double Bayou and Jim Bob Jackson’s book, JHK Ranch, 1940-1963, for an in-depth accounting of the JHK Ranch.