Los Encinos "The Oaks"

Encino is a small rural community located on U.S. Highway 281 about eighteen miles south of Falfurrias in southern Brooks County, Texas. Its quiet setting in the South Texas Plains holds a rich heritage that reaches back nearly two centuries, to the early days of Mexican Texas and the ranchlands that defined the region.

Encino stands on land originally included within Luciano Chapa’s 1832 Mexican land grant known as La Encantada y Encina del Pozo, which means “Enchanted Place and Live Oak in a Hole.” The name was inspired by a large live oak tree that once grew prominently in the area. Over the years, the constant brushing of livestock and the effects of wind erosion wore away the soil around the oak’s roots, forming a hollow or “pozo.” This tree became a local landmark and gave the area its enduring name, El Encino del Poso, meaning “The Oak in the Hole.” Though the tree itself reportedly died in the late 1800s, its legacy continues through the community’s name and a Texas Historical Commission marker that commemorates the site just south of town.

The Encino community began to take shape in the early 1900s as a roundup point for cattle raised by Mexican cattlemen across the surrounding ranchlands. Like much of South Texas, the area’s economy and way of life revolved around open-range ranching and livestock drives. In 1904, the Texas and New Orleans Railroad was completed through the area, providing a new transportation link that helped establish Encino as a recognizable stop along the growing South Texas corridor. Ten years later, in 1914, the United States Postal Service opened the Encino Post Office, marking the formal establishment of the community.

Encino remained small throughout the twentieth century but kept its close-knit rural identity. In 1925, its population was estimated at fifty residents, holding steady until 1939, when it reached about one hundred. By 1941, roughly two hundred people lived in the community, but that number declined to around 125 by 1945, reflecting the broader shifts in rural populations after World War II. In 1948, Encino supported three schools, a church, and several dwellings. By 1970, the population stood near 110, a figure that remained consistent into the 1990s. The 2000 census recorded 177 residents within what is now classified as a census-designated place.

Encino lies within a landscape typical of the South Texas brush country, with wide stretches of mesquite and live oak, dry ranchland, and scattered windmills that speak to generations of ranching families. The land grant origins tie the community to a formative period in Texas history, bridging the era of Mexican governance and early Texas statehood. The endurance of Encino’s name and the story of El Encino del Poso reflect the deep relationship between the people and the land. The live oak that once stood here symbolized shelter and endurance in a rugged environment, a fitting metaphor for the small community that continues to persist in its shadow.

Today, Encino remains a quiet, unincorporated community surrounded by open ranchland and brush country. Travelers along U.S. 281 find a scattering of homes, a church, and the ever-present wind across the plains, but within that stillness lies the echo of Texas history. The oak tree that gave Encino its name may be gone, yet its story endures as a reminder of how landscape and legacy intertwine in the history of South Texas.