The site was part of the Los Olmos y Loma Blanca land grant issues to Ignacio de la Peña on December 9, 1831. Peña and his heirs occupied the land for the next thirty years. On November 1, 1907, banker and real estate developer R.P. Halderman purchased a plot of land from the heirs of Henry Seeligson for $540,939.50. He then subdivided the land into tracts to entice residents from the northern U.S to invest in South Texas, citing the region's warm climate and ideal planting conditions.