_H7 Ranch

Emil Henry Marks (1881-1969), a descendant of Prussian immigrants, was orphaned at an early age and reared by his maternal grandparents in Addicks, Texas, and later by relatives in Pattison, Texas. Marks registered the _H7 cattle brand in 1898. He married Maud May Smith in 1907. They raised longhorn cattle in Addicks and in 1917 relocated their expanding herd to a 640-acre ranch in Barker, Texas. By the early 1930s their herd had increased to 6,816 head of cattle and their grazing land had expanded to 36,000 acres. A barbecue and rodeo held by Marks during spring roundup and branding activities in 1918 became such a popular annual event that he expanded the rodeo facilities and began charging admission. _H7 rodeos, a showplace for Marks' premier longhorn cattle, ended in 1950 after much of his Barker ranch was inundated by the creation of the Barker Flood Control Reservoir. Marks helped found the South Texas Producers' Association (1931), Houston's Fat Stock Show and Rodeo (1932), the Salt Grass Trail Drive (1952), and the Texas Longhorn Breeders' Association of America (1964). In 1936 he broke ground for the San Jacinto Monument with _H7 oxen. The heirs of Emil and Maud Marks continued to raise longhorn cattle and use the _H7 brand. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995

_H7 Ranch is a historical marker in Houston, Harris County, dedicated in 1993. It is one of 422 historical markers documented in Harris County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 849 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.7761, -95.6858 near Houston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Barker Post Office (historical marker), about 1.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include KOCK, McGee Chapel, and Gray Lodge No. 329, A. F. & A. M..

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5201010719. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.