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Civil War Trail Hidalgo County Jackson Ranch

Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail College of Liberal Arts

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Hidalgo County - Related Links

  • City of Hidalgo (Original Edinburgh)
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RGV- Civil War Program
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
1201 W. University Dr.
LAMR 1.103
Conference Room LAMR 1.104
Email: chaps@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3231

Quick Links

CHAPS RGV Civil War “Cotton Times” Film Discovery Trails Sponsorship Opportunities Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail The Civil War on the Rio Grande, 1846–1876

Jackson Ranch

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Along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County lay the Jackson Ranch and Eli Jackson Cemetery, once owned by Nathaniel Jackson, a loyal Unionist during the Civil War. In the 1850’s, Jackson left Alabama with his African-American wife Matilda Hicks, his son Eli, and other adult children. They hoped to escape the intolerance of inter-racial marriage they had known in the South. Accompanying the Jacksons were eleven African-American freedmen. In 1857, Jackson founded his ranch on a former Spanish grant. His property is said to have become a refuge for runaway slaves from Texas and the Deep South. Today, many people know about the Underground Railroad that shepherded enslaved people to freedom in the northern states and Canada, but few know about the route to freedom in Mexico. The Jackson Ranch lay near the Military Highway between Fort Ringgold and Fort Brown, and would have been visited by Confederate and Union troops as they fought for control of the Lower Valley in 1863 and 1864. Jackson died in 1865, the same year that his son Eli established the family cemetery where members of the clan now rest. Nathaniel Jackson’s grave is unmarked.

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Este rancho, junto con el Cementerio Eli Jackson, se extiende en la riba del Río Grande, y fue propiedad de Nathaniel Jackson, quien se mantuviera leal a la causa unionista durante la Guerra de Secesión estadounidense. En la década de 1850, Jackson abandonó Alabama en compañía de su esposa afroamericana Matilda Hicks y su hijo Eli, así como de otros hijos ya adultos, esperando escapar de la intolerancia contra los matrimonios interraciales que habían tenido que soportar en el sur de los EE.UU. Les acompañaban también once afroamericanos liberados, y en 1857 Jackson estableció su rancho en terrenos de una antigua concesión española. Se dice que la propiedad se convirtió en refugio de esclavos huidos, venidos desde otros lugares de Texas y del sur profundo. En la actualidad, mucha gente ha oído hablar del tren subterráneo que acarreaba esclavos hacia la libertad en los estados norteños del país y al Canadá, pero pocos saben de la ruta hacia la libertad que existía en dirección a México. El Rancho Jackson se encontraba cerca de una carretera militar que unía el Fuerte Ringgold con el Fuerte Brown, y fue visitado por tropas tanto confederadas como unionistas durante su lucha por controlar el bajo Valle del Río Grande en 1863 y 1864. Jackson falleció en 1865, el mismo año en que su hijo Eli estableció el cementerio familiar donde los restos mortales de sus familiares ahora descansan. Nathaniel Jackson yace en una tumba sin identificar.

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Details

Location: (From Cemeteries of Texas): Drive south of Pharr on U.S. 281 to Fay’s Corners, where 281 turns east. Stay on 281 and go east .8 mile, then turn south and cross the canal levee; go .4 mile, turn east toward church spire .2 mile. Cemetery is 500 feet northeast of the church, against the canal embankment.

Access: No known restrictions at this time.

GPS Coordinates

Photos

Martin Jackson Headstone
Martin Jackson - Headstone
Jackson Cementery
Eli Jackson Cemetery Texas Historical Marker
Jackson Ranch church
Jackson Ranch Church and Cemetery
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