Cattlemen established his ranch in 1917

When Guy Scott Rachal established his Pecos County ranch in 1917, it comprised more than 38,000 acres on open range. He branded his cattle with an H-6, the brand used by his family in South Texas since the 1800s. Guy Scott Rachal was born Feb. 14, 1889, to A.P. and Dizena Peters Racheal at Karnes City. A.P. Racheal, also a native Texan and cattleman, was an old trail driver before operating ranches from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, according to the “Encyclopedia of Texas.” The Palo Pato Ranch, located on Agua Dulce Creek in Nueces County, served as the Racheal ranch headquarters. The Racheal family came to Texas from Louisiana in 1840. Guy Rachal (who changed the spelling of his last name) attended schools in Beeville and later attended the University of Texas, where he studied mining engineering. He finished at West Texas Military Academy in San Antonio and entered ranching with his father. As a boy, Guy started running a few cattle under his own brand on his father’s ranch. He ranched in Karnes County until coming to Pecos County in 1917. The Rachal Ranch in Pecos County, 32 miles southeast of Fort Stockton on the Sanderson road, was the sole range of registered Hereford cattle in the beginning. The cattle of about 100 head were offspring of the foundation stock from L.R. Bradley’s famous herd at Hereford (Texas)...more