The King family of King Ranch released 86000 acres to be sold for the purpose of bringing more people to this South Texas region. With so much land available it was necessary to bring in land developers who would purchase large tracts and advertise far and wide. Theodore F. Koch, from Minnesota, was such a land developer. In 1907 he discuss the property with a priest, Father Edward J. Vattmann, the secretary of the Catholic Colonization Society of America. After researching the land and its situation the society encouraged Catholic families to move there. A number of Catholic families arrived, built a small church and a school. The community was named after the priest who had introduced them to the area. They called it Vattmanville, then later shortened it to Vattman.