This 600-acre Texas ranch is being sold for the first time since 1840

A Texas ranch that hasn’t been for sale since the late 19th century has just hit the market.

The 600-acre Rancho El Saeno, which has been owned by the same family since 1840, in south Texas has been listed for $2.4 million by Foster Farm and Ranch, Chron reported.

JL Pepe Guerra is the listing agent. 

The property’s lineage can be directly linked to the Texas Revolution. Elder B. Barton, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, a crucial conflict in the revolution, received the land in recognition of his service in 1836. After the war, veterans like Barton were granted land parcels across the state, typically around 640 acres. Barton, who settled in South Texas, went on to have a large family and received various land grants. In 1840, he sold the Rancho El Saeno property to distant relatives, and it has remained in their possession ever since.

Unlike many properties in the area, Rancho El Saeno has never been cleared, allowing for the preservation of rare plant species, including the dragon fruit plant, palo verde tree, tenaza plant, and ocote.

Over the years, the ranch has served as a retreat for generations of hunters. With open land and an electric well filling ponds across the acreage, it provides an ideal habitat for deer, doves, turkey, and quail. While there is no traditional house on the property, it boasts a covered patio, fire pit, and a unique crystal blue swimming hole.

The real estate boom has seen a lot of legacy ranches hit the market in Texas.

The 164-acre Indian Creek Farm, located off State Highway 46, listed for almost $12 million in 2022.

Originally established in the mid-nineteenth century as a German settlement, it was eventually part of the 655 acres gifted to Erastus “Deaf” Smith by the Republic of Texas for his service in the Texas Revolution. During the Battle of the Alamo, Smith was a courier for William B. Travis, who considered him “the Bravest of the Brave,” according to a letter retrieved by the ​​Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Deaf Smith County and Travis County are named respectively for the Texas revolutionaries.

Also in 2022, the Braun Ranch was listed for $7.5 million. It’s one of 15 ranch estates in Rough Creek Lodge and Resort, a new 11,000-plus-acre community with a private spa and golf course, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The 50-acre ranch, about two hours outside of Dallas is a gated, private property with four buildings — an owner’s house, a guest house, a casita and a “party barn.”

— Ted Glanzer