Ricardo, first called Richard, changed to the Spanish spelling of its name. Settlers arrived in the early years of the 1900's taking advantage of the new land placed on the market by the King family of the King Ranch. The railroad was not long in coming to the area. A railroad station was built at Ricardo enabling the farmers to transport their products to market. Cotton was the main crop, therefore, a cotton gin was built for their convenience. Then a school was built for the children of the farming families.

The community dwindled to a few after the coming of the modern transportation means: trucks and cars. People found it easy and more desirable to shop in the larger town of Kingsville.