Major crops of the area include:  milo, cotton, rice, feed corn and soybean.  Cotton farming was recorded in 1840 while rice began around 1899.  In the 1920's and 1930's combines threshed the rice production while cotton was still picked by hand.
  Crops of the earlier years included:  peaches, citrus fruit, snap beans, cabbage, peppers, onions and various vegetables.  Cotton and rice are the largest crops of today.
  Ranching also thrived in the 1800's  Cattle baron Able Head "Shanghai" Pierce owned 100,000 head of longhorn in 1871, grazing them over one half of Matagorda County's prairie land.  He introduced the rose hedge to the area.  It was used as fence and shelter for cattle.
  Ranchers of the area produced the name "Maverick," which is used throughout the ranching industry nationwide.  In 1906, the Brahma cattle were introduced and the 1920's recorded 2,500 good milk cows in the area.