Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, born August 20, 1859 near Tehuacana in Limestone County, Texas, died on his farm in Nassau County, New York on November 28, 1929. Yoakum also headed the syndicate which owned the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Co., formed August 23, 1903, construction began on May 1, 1905. Yoakum, Texas, established as a station on the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad, is named for him. Uriah Lott interested B.F. Yoakum in a project to plan and build a railroad into the lower Rio Grande Valley.