Harvey Creek Ranch

Nearly equidistant between the two metropolises, the Harvey Creek Ranch is an 82-mile drive from Houston and a 93-mile trip from Austin. The nearest cities to the ranch are Weimar (6 miles) and Columbus (8 miles). The ranch is conveniently located less than 2 miles down county roads from the I-10 exit 689, and has an access point off of Wanjura Lane. The property is just far enough away from I-10 that there is no noise pollution from the interstate. The ranch is also located just a mile west of the Colorado River, a point of interest for migrating bird enthusiasts.

The Harvey Creek Ranch is situated within the southernmost extent of the Post Oak Savannah ecoregion directly adjacent to the Gulf Coast and Blackland Prairie ecoregions. The conglomeration of these ecoregions and their respective characteristics can all be found on this property. The word diversity tells the story of this property’s plant communities. A myriad of tree species are found within the property lines including the hard-to-miss sycamores that line Harvey Creek, and the long-lived evergreen live oaks found dispersed throughout the entirety of the property. Numerous species of native forbs like Whitemouth Dayflower (Commelina erecta), and native grasses like Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) dot the prairie landscape as well, offering ample forage for wildlife and potential for cattle grazing opportunities. Rare for land in this part of the state is a feature like the breathtaking Harvey Creek that forms the southern boundary of the ranch. Lined by sandstone bottoms and large boulders, and flowing year around with whiskey-hued clear water, the live creeks’ bends form a hard-to-believe scene so close to Houston. Overtime, the natural path of the creek has created several large pools where the flow of the creek slows allowing for pastimes like swimming, fishing, and floating. The soil makeup on this property is primarily composed of fine sandy loams on the higher elevations of the property (50%), and sandy clay loams in the lower contours along Harvey Creek (42%). The remaining soil types are widely distributed amongst other clay-based soils and one highly productive soil known as Emenwood-Denvaca complex. Of the total 240± acre ranch, roughly 90 acres consist of native prairie with mature oaks scattered within. The remainder of the property is primarily old-growth oak-dominated forests with plenty of understory to provide excellent habitat for the game on the ranch. The higher elevations of the property reach 320’, these areas are cleared and are begging for a new home build overlooking the rest of the picturesque acreage.

The habitat on this ranch is excellent for quintessential Texas wildlife species including white-tailed deer, turkey, and hogs. The ranch is low-fenced and has experienced minimal hunting while owned by the current seller. Only a few mature deer have been taken in the last 10 years and a few blinds and feeders are strategically located throughout the property. Due to the lack of hunting pressure and favorable habitat, the whitetail population has a great age distribution. Turkeys on the ranch are abundant. Miles of Harvey Creek, a healthy understory for nesting, and plentiful roosting trees allow this property to sustain large populations of this coveted bird.

There is currently no grazing or agricultural production on this property. However, there are ample native and improved grasses on the property to run a cattle operation should an owner wish to.

The ranch is improved with a two-story barndominium with double barn doors that overlooks one of the highest points of the property. Just outside the barndominium are 2 small storage sheds for equipment or vehicles.

There is a total of 10,348 feet of frontage on Harvey Creek. There is also a wet weather creek drainage that runs from the NW of the ranch through the middle of the property into Harvey Creek. The watershed flows eastward into the Colorado River, located just a mile away from the property boundary. There is one known operational well on the ranch that serves the barndominium on the NE side of the property. The vast majority of wells on adjacent ranches have bore depths between 140’ and 250’and the groundwater is plentiful and of excellent quality.

Native Americans from the Karankawa and Tonkawa tribes used to inhabit this region to take advantage of the live water creek and plentiful resources. Many artifacts such as arrowheads are commonly found on the ranch, the last several arrowheads were found in June ’24.