El Campo known as the Coastal Plains of Texas. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, German, Irish and Swedish immigrants moved into the area and cattle production remained the principal income of the people. Between 1850 and 1865, trail drivers were slated along the old Atascosita and Opelousas Trail to New Orleans and Mobile to railroads where beef could be shipped to the south and to the northeast. The designation 'Pearl of the Prairie' was given to the site by American cowboys.