A place in the sun

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Occupying two charter buses, 78 members of the South Texas Syndicate arrived in downtown Cotulla as part of a specially organized tour on Saturday, October 5, for a luncheon catered by Archy’s at the Cattlemen’s in the historic Gallman Building on the corner of Front and Center streets, and to shop at La Salle Western Wear, Black Brush Trading, and at the Pop-Up Market hosted by Black Brush on its covered patio for the Cotulla Main Street Program. The South Texas Syndicate is a group of descendants from across the United States who trace their lineage and their rightful inheritance to property buyers George F. Piper, EC Warner and Walter Douglas, who made a 131,000-acre land investment covering 205 square miles of La Salle County in 1906. Rufus Brett, George Piper’s brother-in-law, acted as the agent for the three buyers in the direct purchase. Walter Douglas would later be lost in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. The property lies between the community of Fowlerton on Hwy 97 and FM 624, which runs from Cotulla to the southeastern portion of the county. Today, the members of the trust include several generations who meet each year at different locations and occasionally in La Salle County for a tour of the property and a stop in Cotulla. The first time the group traveled to La Salle was 2017. Among this year’s visitors was John Q. Piper Sr., who said the syndicate of heirs enjoys visiting South Texas and being a part of the community. (Courtesy photo)