Ranchers’ dispute has deep ties to Fort Hood history

Last week, a group of ranchers appeared in a Coryell County courtroom as part of a lawsuit against the Central Texas Cattlemen’s Association. The five men are fighting the association’s board, which stripped them of their rights to graze cattle on Fort Hood land after the men allegedly erected a cattle pen on a restricted section of land without proper permission. While the lawsuit works its way through the court system, the case has roots dating back to the earliest days of the sprawling military installation and the hundreds of Central Texas families displaced by its construction. The establishment of an Army post, known as “Camp Hood” in 1942, swallowed up 22 area communities and displaced more than 700 families in Bell and Coryell counties. The initial 108,794 acres of land that became Camp Hood — once home to ranches, farms and schools — became a place for tanks, barracks and areas blasted by artillery fire. Much of that land was taken by the federal government under the auspices of eminent domain, and the process was expedited by the Second War Powers Act in 1942, according to Baylor University’s Sylvia Edwards’ thesis, “Land Acquisition in Coryell County ... A Civilian Perspective.” At the time, many of the families had been on the land for generations, but many acquiesced to help with the war effort. In J. Akiens’ “History of Fort Hood and Local Area,” a witness relayed the reaction of one group of families to an Army official explaining the land acquisition to them. “Many of them were gray and stooped; they had been born upon that land; and their forefathers were buried there. They had labored to improve it and expected to pass it on to their sons and daughters. No tears were shed, nor were many words spoken. Each family group went its own way, but on their faces could be seen the deep hurt.” The land acquisition was especially painful for ranchers, who not only lost their homes, but had to scramble to figure out what to do with their livestock...more