Great Land Lottery of Aransas Pass

In 1909, real estate developers E.O. Burton and A.H. Danforth embarked upon a land promotion scheme to take advantage of available land in Aransas Pass. They hired journalist W.H. Vernor to produce the "Aransas Pass Progress", which promoted Aransas Pass and the pending land sale across the country by U.S. Mail. Promoter A.D. Powers was hired to carefully handle the sale to avoid its being seen as a lottery by the postal department. Six thousand tickets, each representing a town lot, were sold for $100 each. Ticket holders were then to come to Aransas Pass to bid on lots; they were not to bid more than $100, and thus the tickets could be exchanged directly for lots. Nearly all 6,000 lots were sold during the auction sales in December 1909. All went well until postal inspectors who had secured tickets purposefully overbid, which muddled the sale and led to several legal battles. As a result of the great land lottery of 1909, Aransas Pass did see substantial growth. The money collected in overbids went into a trust that eventually served to fund public and school libraries, including the one at this site.

Great Land Lottery of Aransas Pass is a historical marker in Aransas Pass, San Patricio County, dedicated in 1992. It is one of 35 historical markers documented in San Patricio County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 59 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 27.9089, -97.1517 near Aransas Pass. The nearest cataloged historic site is First United Methodist Church of Aransas Pass (historical marker), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Aransas Pass First Baptist Church, Terminal Railroad, and Prairieview.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5409002262. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.