Taylor-Stevenson Ranch

Harris County, TX

Status: Located – Needs More Research

Year Established: Unknown

Council of Governments: H-GAC

Public History: There are no current descriptions related to Taylor-Stevenson Ranch in the public record. If you are aware of any sources that we may have missed please share them with us.

Community History: Taylor-Stevenson Ranch is a historic 640-acre working ranch located near NRG Stadium (home of the Houston Texans and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) Almeda Rd. in Houston, TX. The ranch was officially designated in the Congressional Record as a “Texas Century Ranch” which recognizes ownership by the same family for over a century. It was also recognized as the only African-American owned ranch in Texas with the century ranch designation. The ranch was originally purchased in 1875 by Edward Ruthven Taylor, a former Confederate Soldier, at the persuasion of Ann George, who was one of the family’s former slaves charged with overseeing Edward after his capture and during his illness after the American Civil War. They planned to raise hay, livestock, and farm the land. They lived openly together as husband and wife, although they never officially married because at that time interracial marriage was a violation of Texas law. In 1946, aviators Azellia White, Hulon “Pappy” White, Ben Stevenson, and Elton “Ray” Thomas opened the Sky Ranch Flying Service on the property. Stevenson, Thomas, and Hulon White were Tuskegee Airmen, while Azellia White was the first African-American woman to get her private pilot’s license in Texas. The Sky Ranch Flying Service provided flying lessons and charter flights. It included a commercial airport used by African-American aviators, which had three runways up to 2,200 feet in length. The service closed when new restrictions on the use of the G.I. Bill caused a decline in customers. The American Cowboy Museum is located on the Taylor-Stevenson Ranch. Established in 1988 by Mollie Taylor Stevenson Jr., the museum is focused on the art, history, and culture of the contributions of African Americans, Hispanic, Native Americans, and women to the development of the American West.

Cemetery: Ann George