Margaret Rector was born in Haskell in West Texas and moved to Austin, Texas during the Great Depression. She worked for the State of Texas for thirty-five years. Rector was the daughter of photographer Ray Rector (1884-1933) and sister of Tommie Rector. After beginning a photography business in Stamford, Texas, in 1903, Ray Rector became known as the “Cowboy Photographer,” photographing everyday ranch-life scenes. His idea for a cowboy reunion, to perpetuate the memory of the West and bring together old-time ranchers and cowhands for a few days of fellowship and reminiscence, resulted in the first Texas Cowboy Reunion, held in Stamford in 1930.
Margaret Rector bought 15 acres in western Travis County as an investment in 1973. In the 1990s, she conflicted with federal and state agencies over ownership of private property and the effects of the Endangers Species Act. In 1990, the golden-cheeked warbler, a local bird, was listed as an endangered species. By 1994, her property's assessed value had dropped 97 percent due to development issues on land now identified as endangered species' habitat. She sold her land in 1997.
Handbook of Texas Online “Rector, Ray,” http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/fre38.html (accessed on October 15, 2010).
Seasholes, Brian. 2007. Bad for species, bad for people what's wrong with the Endangered Species Act and how to fix it. NCPA policy report, no. 303. Dallas: National Center for Policy Analysis. http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st303?pg=3 (accessed on October 15, 2010).
From the guide to the Rector (Margaret) Papers 98-234; 2003-129; 2010-256., 1881-2002, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
