Black Cap Heaven - Gillespie County, Harper, TX
Black Cap Heaven - Gillespie County, Harper, TX
Black Cap Heaven, in western Gillespie County, is awaiting its next steward to continue to conserve this 128.75± acre jewel of the Texas Hill Country. This ranch is ideal for a buyer seeking a special place to build a home and conserve the diversity of trees, grasses, and native brush for the balanced benefit of birdlife, indigenous wildlife and the landowner as well. The ranch is a nice shape and is protected from public roadways by easement road access. The ranch benefits from a thoughtful conservation easement that allows for the next owner to use and enjoy the property.
Key Attributes
Location
Located a short 5 miles outside Harper, TX, the ranch is only 23 miles west of the very popular central Texas town of Fredericksburg, 1.5 hours from San Antonio, and 2 hours from Austin; Black Cap Heaven is ideally located for a vacation home or permanent residence.
Topography, Rangeland & Habitat
The ranch has a unique, significant and intact high quality shinnery habitat covering about 2/3 of the property providing foraging and nesting opportunities for many songbirds. This unique habitat also provides an effective nursery allowing tree and brush species to become established and thrive.
As a result, native vegetation on the ranch is very diverse, with highlights including shin oak, escarpment black cherry, Texas Redbud, several other oak species, bumelia, hackberry and a few juniper. Abundant native grasses include side oats grama (which happens to be the state grass of Texas), Canada Wildrye, purple three-awn, yellow indian and hooded windmill grasses.
Additionally, the topography on the ranch is gently rolling providing pleasant hiking opportunities for the enjoyment of the property. The hilltop horizon views are spectacular.
The ranch is protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement, the intent of which is to preserve the property’s significant conservation values. These values are related to the unique ecological features found on the property that include hydrologic, wildlife, and plant resources, as well as scenic and open space values. Contact Broker for more details regarding the conservation easement.
Wildlife
Birdlife (avifauna) of the area is very diverse and impressive. A field checklist published by Texas Parks and Wildlife entitled “Birds of the Edwards Plateau” (https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4000_0667.pdf ) includes 431 species – one of the best-known of this list is the namesake black-capped vireo.
Native mammalian wildlife in the area include species such as white-tailed deer, fox squirrel, armadillo, porcupine, raccoon, grey fox, bobcat, coyote, and many more.
Agriculture
The current owners have maintained the property’s agricultural tax valuation through a small-herd seasonal grazing lease for cattle. A future owner might want to consider doing same or consider converting to wildlife management.
Improvements
The ranch is unimproved at this time; however, the conservation easement identifies two building envelopes where improvements can be constructed. There are an existing water well and a septic tank (unknown condition), as well as existing electric power in one of the building envelopes. The other building envelope does not have any infrastructure in place.
The ranch is perimeter fenced with 3 sides being standard height and the north boundary being high fenced.
Water
Electricity
Area History
During the baseline visit, a Gower split stem spear point was discovered along the ridge of the highest point on the property. This spear point is attributed to the Early Archaic period, dating back approximately 8,500 to 7,000 years Before Present (B.P.). This spear point provides valuable insights into the historical and cultural importance of the property as it signifies the presence of indigenous peoples, who inhabited the area during the Early Archaic period, engaging in activities such as hunting and gathering.
