Texas family’s 650-acre ranch to become state park in $10 million deal

A 650-acre ranch on the shores of Lake Palestine in East Texas, owned by the same family since 1940 and long associated with a pecan-growing business, is set to become Texas' next state park after the property was acquired for more than $10 million. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation closed the purchase on October 1, 2026, securing one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of land along the lake, reported The Texas Tribune and The Dallas Morning News.The property, in Henderson County between Tyler and Athens, will not immediately open as a public park. The foundation plans to hold the land until the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) can acquire it, likely in late 2027, using additional funding from the voter-approved Centennial Parks Conservation Fund.