Edward Burleson "E. B." Raymond (November 12, 1848 – October 19, 1914
, ''Historical Landmarks of Brownsville University of Texas at Brownsville'') was a lawyer, rancher, politician, banker, and founder of

Raymondville, Texas Raymondville is a city in and the county seat of Willacy County, Texas, Willacy County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Willacy County is also the Raymondville micropolitan area. R ...

. Raymond, who was named after his father's friend

Edward Burleson Edward Murray Burleson (December 15, 1798 – December 26, 1851) was the third vice president of the Republic of Texas. After Texas was annexed to the United States, he served in the State Senate. Prior to his government service in Texas, he wa ...

, was born in a log cabin on Congress Avenue in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

to Nathaniel C. Raymond and Lucinda Riggs Raymond. His father was Secretary of StateTexas Historical Documents
, ''John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center'' under Governor James Throckmorton, and Secretary of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

.History of Texas
'' A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879'' E. B. Raymond came to

South Texas South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of th ...

on horseback in 1870. In his first years there, he herded cattle to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. In 1874 he was hired by Richard King to open the new El Sauz division of the

King Ranch King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some it is larger than the area of the European country Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the racehorse Assault (horse), Assault, who won the United States Tri ...

. Raymond would serve as the manager of the El Sauz division for 37 years and was empowered to purchase land on King's behalf until 1882. In 1893, the El Sauz Post Office was established where Raymond served as the postmaster and telegraph operator. In 1898 he was elected Cameron County Commissioner, a position he held until 1910. In 1904, he joined with the

to deed the right of way to the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway and donated a station site near his Las Majadas Ranch which was later named in his honor. In that same year he formed the Raymond Town and Improvement Company, was granted a post office, and began selling plots of land with

Henrietta King Henrietta Maria King (née Chamberlain; July 21, 1832 – March 31, 1925) was a rancher and philanthropist. She was the wife of Richard King, who founded King Ranch, the largest ranch in Texas. Their daughter Alice Gertrudis King Kleberg is the n ...

. In 1907 he established the Raymondville State Bank where he served as president until his death. In addition, Raymond built a

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

and

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

.Entry for Edward Burleson Raymond
from Texas Historical Markers Raymondville became the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Willacy County in 1921 when Kenedy County was split from Willacy. Raymond was married to Juanita Rodriguez, and was the father of two sons. When Raymond died he left his Las Majadas Ranch to his two sons and wife.

References

External links

* *
El Sauz Ranch History
from El Sauz Ranch
Early Picture of Raymondville State Bank
from The Center for American History and General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin, Robert Runyon Photograph Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Edward Burleson County commissioners in Texas Politicians from Austin, Texas 1848 births 1914 deaths People from Willacy County, Texas American city founders 19th-century American politicians