The year 1877 was just over a decade after the end of the Civil War. African-Americans who were under the sufferings and horrors of slavery in the past were expanding their horizons and seeking to find ownership in properties throughout the south.

The Fannin Ranch was established in 1877 and was one of the first African-American owned ranches in the south. The Texas Department Agriculture honored the ranch in 2021 with special recognition for being in continuous operation for 145 years.

Henry Fannin was a pioneer and example for freed slaves and African-Americans during those years following the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction. At 67, Fannin, who was born in Virginia in 1810, acquired 104 acres just over five miles north of Quitman in Wood County on March 10, 1877.

Henry had been enslaved in Georgia and later in Texas. Henry and his wife, Lucy, were the parents of 21 children. Nine of those children worked the land with the family, five sons had been sold into slavery and seven children had died at childbirth.

Henry was determined to carve out a place for his family and future generations. He acquired 104 acres from D.T. Lipscomb where he raised livestock, cattle and corn. Henry’s son, Morgan, obtained the land in 1895 and passed it down to his sons, Young Henry and Brusker Sr. Young Henry deeded his land to his brother Brusker Sr. in 1921.

In 1957, the land was deeded to World War II veteran Brusker Jr. where he and his wife Martene built the first brick home north of Quitman in 1960. They raised two children, Brusker III and Sevetra Fannin Pankey in the home which still remains on the property. 

Oil was produced on the property and in 1962, a successful oil well named the Fannin #1 was drilled. In 2004, the property was deeded from Brusker Jr. to his children. The ranch currently has livestock and crops which continue the 145-year legacy of the Fannin family in Wood County.

“Actually this whole area out here was known as the Muddy Creek community,” Brusker III said. “The Muddy Creek Church was established for blacks in the community. Most of the original families sold out and moved to Dallas or other areas.”

Brusker III and sister, Sevetra, attended the Clark School prior to integration, which made it possible for them to finish high school at Quitman. Brusker III was going into to his junior year and Sevetra her freshman year at Quitman High School. Brusker III went on to graduate from East Texas State University and went to work for Shell Oil Co. from which he retired. Sevetra became an educator and has been teaching in the QISD for many years. Brusker’s wife, Barbara, retired from QISD after 32 years as an educator. 

Growing up on the ranch gave the Fannin children a lesson in a hard work ethic which each carried with them into their adult lives. The Fannin siblings got up early mornings to milk cows before they even went to school.

“We also grew corn and ground it up for cow feed,” Brusker III added. 

The Fannins stayed busy with the legacy of their mother, Martene.

“We learned to work. Besides the ranch, Mom had an upholstery shop, an antique shop and the catering business. The whole family helped, especially in the catering business,” Sevetra explained. “Even our kids grew up knowing the catering business. Our kids grew up knowing the value of work. Some of our best times were working in the catering business.”