The LH7 Ranch in Houston's Shadow: The E.H. Marks' Legacy From Longhorns to the Salt Grass Trail Page: Front Inside

                                
The LH7 Ranch in
Houston's Shadow
The E H Marks' Legacy from
Longhorns to the Salt Grass Trail
Deborah Lightfoot Sizemore
The story of Emil Henry Marks and
the LH7 Ranch records not only the
history of a unique family but also
the cattle business on the coastal
prairies of Texas when ranching was
the principal industry of the Houston
area. It also chronicles the beginning
of the Salt Grass Trail.
The family story begins with the
birth of August Texas Marks, on a
sailing ship off the coast of Galveston
on August 15, 1843. His son Emil
Henry learned "the cow business"
from the back of a horse, memorizing
Western ballads at night and learn-
ing to recite cowboy poems by the
dozens.
Marks registered the LH7 brand in
Harris County in 1898 and started
the ranch with 63 acres west of
Houston and a few Texas Longhorns.
The LH7 became one of the first Gulf
Coast ranches to breed Brahman
cattle from India, crossing them with
Longhorns. By the early 1930s the
LH7 was running 6,670 head on
36,000 acres. Branding day on the
LH7, drawing cowboys from neigh-
boring spreads and spectators from
Houston, quickly grew from a neigh-
borhood event into a nationally
known annual rodeo held for thirty
years.