El Campo, TX
El Campo is situated in the center of the Coastal Plains of Texas. Because of the bountiful native grasses, these plains were used as open range for cattle by Spanish explorers, later by Mexican cattlemen and then settlers brought in by Colonist Stephen F. Austin. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, German, Irish and Swedish immigrants moved into the area and cattle production remained the principal income of the people.
In 1882, a railroad camp (section No. 230) was situated where El Campo now stands. The little camp was first called “Prairie Switch” because it served as a switching point on the Houston-Victoria Railroad and a shipping point on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad. In fact, during the mid-1880s, El Campo was the largest prairie hay shipping point in the entire United States.
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