Chap 2 - Peninsula - Epis. 6 - Davenport Ranch

Our Westlake

Emmett Shelton, Sr. (1905-2000) rounds out the Chapter on developing the Westlake Peninsula with a first-hand story of the sale of the 1,000 acre Davenport Ranch in the 1940s. Nobody knew exactly where the boundaries were, but Emmett owned the surrounding ranches. Emmett traces this history back to 1840 when the Walsh family bought it to mine lime. Later, owners harvested cedar.
In the 1940s, Emmett took Ms. Davenport out to the property with an asking price of $40 an acre. Ms. D was an oil-heiress from the Valley and the asking price was about one month's royalties. She planned to raise brahma cattle. He pointed out to four corners of the 1,000 acres and she sealed the deal with a little whiskey that day. Ms. D contributed to the colorful nature of Westlake for many years.
NOTE: In the 1950s, Ms. Davenport became active in Campaigning for
Texas Republicans for Eisenhower. Emmett led the Dems for Eisenhower.
Emmett shares several colorful stories about the campaign in our Chapter on Politics.

For maps and other info check out our Facebook page: Our Westlake
Stories told by Emmett Shelton / compiled and submitted by Cynthia Shelton.