Edmond E. Risien, Pecan Pioneer

Pecans became the county's signature crop in the twentieth century. At Bend, in the southeast of the county, extensive pecan orchards were planted after 1920, and by midcentury the Hollis native pecan was the region's main cash crop. Bend's boosters call the Jumbo Hollis, which stands near the Colorado River, the world's most productive pecan tree; it is said to have borne more than 1,000 pounds of nuts in 1919, and it is named for its first known owner, Thomas I. Hollis. In 1982 San Saba County ranked fourth in Texas in pecan production.

What the plaque says

Edmond E. Risien, Pecan Pioneer (1853-1940) Cited by 42nd Texas Legislature and the public as a world leader in pecan industry. Spent lifetime upbreeding native San Saba pecans. Born in Dover, England. Came here in 1870s. Installed first San Saba water works. Some pecan varieties he originated were Onliwon, San Saba Improved and Western Schley. Mrs. E. E. Risien, born in Plymouth, England, 1853, died in San Saba 1953. The Risiens had four children: Doris, Norma, Winnie and E. Guy (son who carried on work with pecans). Erected 1969

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Bend State Park — 17 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.

More markers nearby

• Camp McMillan, C.S.A., Texas Civil War Frontier Defense — steps away
• United Confederate Veterans William P. Rogers Camp No. 322 — steps away
• The Texas Rangers and the San Saba Mob — steps away
• American Legion Wiley B. Murray Post No. 27 — steps away