Ranch Brands

Honor Your Ranching Legacy at the Alamo

Donors contributing $25,000 or more to the Alamo Statewide Stampede will receive permanent recognition with their ranch brand memorialized on a life-sized commemorative cattle sculpture on the historic Alamo grounds. Each participating ranch is featured in our donor profiles, allowing visitors to discover the rich history behind these brands and learn how these ranching families have joined the mission to preserve the Shrine of Texas Liberty for future generations.

The branding of cattle in Texas has deep historical roots that stretch back to the Spanish colonial period. The Spanish government formalized cattle branding regulations in 1778, requiring that all unbranded cattle in Texas be marked to establish clear ownership. This mandate prompted both local inhabitants and the missions to systematically brand any unmarked cattle they encountered, creating the foundation for the extensive branding systems that would characterize Texas ranching.

What began as a practical solution to livestock management evolved into an integral part of Texas' cultural identity, with branding serving the essential purposes of establishing ownership, preventing disputes between ranchers, and managing the vast herds that would define the state's economy. The cattle industry made Texas synonymous with cowboys, ranches, and the American West.

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San Antonio, Texas

Mission San Antonio de Valero

Mission San Antonio de Valero, later known as the Alamo, used a distinctive cross brand for its cattle. This cross bore a striking resemblance to the Crusader cross, also known as the Jerusalem cross, reflecting the religious heritage of the mission system and creating one of the earliest documented cattle brands in Texas history.

The practice of cattle branding in the San Antonio River valley originated with the Catholic missions established by Spanish colonists. These missions maintained substantial herds as part of their agricultural operations, but managing free-roaming cattle in a settled area soon created problems. Mission cattle frequently wandered into farmers' fields, destroying crops and generating tensions between the townspeople of early San Antonio and the mission communities.

To address these conflicts, Spanish authorities in 1737 mandated that farmers construct fences around their fields to protect their crops from wandering livestock. Simultaneously, they required the missions to assign vaqueros—mission inhabitants who tended the cattle—to better manage their herds and prevent them from straying into cultivated areas. These mission vaqueros were among the first cowboys in the American Southwest, establishing traditions that would later influence ranching culture throughout Texas.

Breckenridge, Texas

Quail Alley Ranch

In full view of Double Mountain to the south, straddling the eastern edge of the Big Country and the western edge of the Upper Cross Timbers regions in North Central Texas, the tracts now comprising Quail Alley in Stephens County were originally surveyed by the Texas Immigration & Land Company and platted on an 1854 map of Peters Colony. During this time period after statehood, Comanche, Kiowa & Tonkawa raids were prevalent and settlors to this area were protected by Fort Richardson in Jacksboro, Fort Belknap in Graham, Fort Griffin in Albany and Fort Phantom Hill in Abilene.

The wagon train road once utilized to carry supplies from the rail center in Stephenville to Ft. Griffin passes Double Mountain and the historically marked, 300 plus year old, Halfway Oak and crosses the ranch. The Old Salt Works Road, once utilized to transport salt for packing buffalo meat for shipment, from William Ledbetter’s Salt Works on Hubbard Creek just to the west, crosses the ranch and intersects the Ft. Griffin road on the ranch. The original surveyed tracts were settled by the McClennys, Tom and John Peeks, and Joe Knox. In the late 1920’s, Tom and Gussie Moore and daughter Mona aggregated the tracts into one ranch.

Kenneth and Carolyn Raney acquired the ranch in 1992. The cattle brand is an “R joined with a backwards K”. With daughter Claire Yancey (Brandon), son Dr. K.C. Raney, III (Eva), and 5 grandchildren, they run a cow-calf operation and, just east of Sandy Creek, have a hunting camp for family and friends. Home to the 1994 National Free-for-All Champion and 1995 National Field Trial Champion bird dog, Lipan, Quail Alley Kennel has been and continues to be home to fine English Setters and Pointers and managed habitat for quail.

Shackelford County, Texas

Chimney Creek Ranch

The historic Chimney Creek Ranch was established in western Shackelford County in 1876, just two years after the county was organized in 1874. Before the ranch's formation, the Butterfield Overland Mail Stage line ran through the property from 1858 to 1861, with the only stage stop in Shackelford County located on Chimney Creek, a tributary of the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. Frank E. Conrad and Ella Matthews Conrad purchased the ranch in 1888. Following Mr. Conrad's death, his widow, Ella Matthews Conrad, sold the ranch to George Robert Davis of Abilene in 1920.

For over 100 years, the ranch has been owned by four generations of G. R. Davis's descendants. After G. R.'s death, the ranch passed to his daughter, Robbie Davis Johnson of Vernon, in 1956. It then passed to her daughter, Mary Frances (Chan) Johnson Paup Driscoll of Midland, in 1973. In 2007, ownership transferred to her sons, Hank Paup and Ted Paup, both of Fort Worth, who are the great-grandsons of G. R. Davis. The potential fifth generation includes Hank and his wife Anne's children, Spivey Johnson Paup and Robbie Jane Pope, as well as Ted and his wife Nancy's children, Mary Catherine Parsons and Jessica Faye Campbell. With Hank and Ted each having five grandchildren, a sixth generation of G. R.'s descendants may eventually own the ranch.

The Chimney Creek Ranch has been recognized with four State of Texas Historical Markers: (1) Smith Station of the Butterfield Stage (1858-1861), designated in 1982; (2) Bud Matthews Switch of the Texas Central Railroad (1900-1967), designated in 1993; (3) Frank E. Conrad (1842-1892), owner of Chimney Creek and the Conrad & Rath General Store at Fort Griffin, designated in 2017; and (4) the Goodnight-Loving Trail (of Lonesome Dove fame), where the first three cattle drives crossed Chimney Creek during 1866-1867, designated in 2018.

Marfa, Texas

Cibolo Creek Ranch

In the mid-1800s, Milton Faver settled in the Big Bend after leaving Missouri, reportedly following a fatal duel. Over the decades, he built a thriving trading business near the Rio Grande on what is now Cibolo Creek Ranch. To protect his enterprise, he constructed three adobe forts: El Fortín del Cíbolo in 1857 for trading and farming; El Fortín de la Cienega as headquarters for his cattle operation; and El Fortín de la Morita to support his growing sheep and goat herds. From these strongholds, Faver cultivated the land, raised livestock, and traded with Native tribes, settlers, miners and U.S. troops. By the 1880s, he ranched more than 20,000 longhorns, along with his extensive sheep and goat herds. When he died in 1889, his vast holdings—including the three forts—passed to his wife, Francisca Ramirez, and their son.

In 1990, war veteran and entrepreneur John B. Poindexter acquired the ranches encompassing the forts. His goal was to create a private retreat that honored the land’s history and Milton Faver’s legacy. Guided by the Texas Historical Commission, he began a meticulous restoration using traditional adobe methods, archival research, and local expertise. Beyond rebuilding, Poindexter reintroduced native wildlife and improved the 30,000-acre habitat by removing invasive species. More than three decades later, the ongoing restoration blends Spanish, Mexican, and American frontier heritages with discreet modern comforts, immersing visitors in the region’s history.

Stephens County

MT7 Ranch

MT7 Ranch, established by the Mike and Mary Terry family of Dallas in 2008, is in the Cross Timbers and Prairies region of north Texas, eight miles east of Breckenridge in Stephens County. The ranch exemplifies a blend of historical legacy and modern stewardship.

Originally known as Veale Ranch, the property was assembled by the Veale family beginning in 1896. Albert Veale and his wife, Suda Ward Veale, acquired several tracts from Suda’s father, a local merchant and banker. Over the next century, the Veale family expanded the ranch, which remained in their hands for four generations.

Earlier, portions of the ranch were owned by C.M. Hamil (acquired in 1885) and Henry Tullos (1903). Today the Tullos and Hamil pastures are among the largest on the property. The ranch includes the old town of Midway and is bisected by the historic Donnell’s Mill to Ranger Road, a wagon route visible on maps from the 1850s to the 1920s.

Stephens County was once part of Peter’s Colony, a settlement initiative led by Peters, an Englishman contracted to bring 600 families to the area. Though the colony was short-lived, the Texas Emigration and Land Company later facilitated settlement, and many ranch tracts are still known as TE&L Co. lands.

Mary Terry’s great-grandfather, Colonel Christopher Columbus (C.C.) Slaughter, was a prominent Texas rancher, banker, and philanthropist, influenced by his father George Webb Slaughter, who served under Sam Houston as courier and chief of scouts during the campaign leading to the Battle of San Jacinto in the Texas Revolution (1835-1836).

MT7 Ranch features the Texas State Historical Marker for Sam Bass and his Gang, CJ Mountain (1,391 ft), and the Big and Little Cedar Creek drainages. It received the 2024 Lone Star Land Steward Award and the 2024 Leopold Conservation Award for its commitment to conservation.

Jim Wells County

Los Machos Ranch

Los Machos Ranch, acquired in the late 19th century by Robert Driscoll Sr., stands as a landmark of South Texas ranching heritage. Currently spanning 20,000 acres in Jim Wells County, it formed part of a vast Driscoll cattle empire that once covered more than 200,000 acres.

The Driscoll brand, first registered in 1875, is among the oldest ranching marks in Texas. It’s “wagon wrench” design—taken from the tool used to steady wagon wheels—became a lasting emblem of endurance and ingenuity, representing a family whose story is woven into the fabric of Texas history.

Robert Driscoll Sr., an Irish-Texan whose grandfather fought at San Jacinto, built his fortune through ranching and land development. From Los Machos and his other holdings—the Palo Alto, Sweden, Clara, and La Gloria Ranches—he helped transform the Texas frontier into thriving communities. His leadership spurred the founding of nearby towns and laid the groundwork for Corpus Christi’s growth. The family's influence shaped modern South Texas, with lands they developed now hosting the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi International Airport, and the Tule Lake area of the Port of Corpus Christi.

His son, Robert Driscoll Jr., carried the family legacy forward as a banker, lawyer, land manager, and civic pioneer, championing the city’s deep-water port as the first chairman of the Nueces County Navigation District. Upon his death, stewardship of the family lands was passed to his sister, Clara Driscoll, philanthropist and “Savior of the Alamo.” Through the foundation she established, she created Driscoll Children’s Hospital, which opened in 1953 and continues today as the leading pediatric healthcare system in South Texas.

Together, the Driscolls built more than ranches—they built opportunity, community, and compassion. Their brand endures as a symbol of heritage, stewardship, and the enduring spirit of Texas.

La Pryor, Texas

Johnson & Sons Ranch

Johnson & Sons Ranch, established in 2024 by Mark M. Johnson Sr. and Carolyn Case Johnson of San Antonio, represents the next chapter of a proud Texas ranching legacy. Building on the heritage of the Clyde Johnson & Sons Hereford Ranch, Mark and Carolyn set out to create a place where land, family, cattle and wildlife stewardship come together—a South Texas hunting and ranching legacy for his sons, Mark and Parker, and the generations that will follow. What began as a family dream has grown into a long-term commitment to preserving native habitat, protecting wildlife, and honoring the Johnson family’s deep connection to the land.

Located in the heart of La Pryor, the ranch encompasses approximately 2,500+ acres of rugged South Texas brush country, enriched by an exceptional abundance of natural water. These water sources create ideal habitats not only for native trophy South Texas whitetail deer but also for native bobwhite quail and Rio Grande turkeys, whose presence reflects the health and balance of the land. From day one, the ranch has been managed with care—selective native deer breeding, brush and habitat enhancement, and conservation practices that maintain the authenticity and strength of natural South Texas genetics.

Family remains at the center of the ranch’s purpose. Every pasture, blind, tank, and sendero has been designed with future generations in mind—a place where Mark & Carolyn’s sons and their children can learn the rhythms of the land, understand the responsibility of stewardship, and share the traditions that shaped their family.

More than a hunting property, Johnson & Sons Ranch is a living legacy. Through conservation, responsible land management, and a deep respect for South Texas wildlife, The Johnson’s are preserving the beauty and bounty of La Pryor—ensuring the land remains a place of heritage, connection, and memory for generations to come.

Bulverde, Texas

Clyde Johnson & Sons Hereford Ranch

The Clyde Johnson & Sons Hereford Ranch, located near Bulverde, Texas, is a landmark in the Hill Country’s ranching history and community development. It's roots trace back to an 1830s land grant to Alfred Schlather, with the Johnson family purchasing the property in 1962. Clyde Johnson Jr., a former FBI agent, and his wife Dorothy began with 16 acres, eventually relocating the ranch to Bulverde with more than 1000+ acres and transforming it into one of the largest registered Hereford cattle operations in the San Antonio region.

The Johnsons focused on breeding registered Herefords known for their strong genetics and consistent quality. A standout bull, “75901,” was the second most prolific bull in history, becoming nationally recognized for advancing Hereford bloodlines and represented a key transition in the breed’s evolution. The ranch hosted annual production sales each October, attracting buyers from across Texas and beyond who sought out “Johnson stock” for their own herds. What defined the ranch just as deeply as its cattle were the three Johnson sons who ran it: Clyde Johnson III (“Boss”), and his younger twin brothers, Mark and Mike Johnson. Each grew up working the land, caring for cattle before sunrise, and carrying forward their father’s belief that good ranching requires grit, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Dorothy Johnson played an equally influential role in the family’s legacy. In addition to helping run the ranch, she founded and operated The Little Country School, one of San Antonio’s earliest kindergartens, which she ran from the ranch for a number of years. Her work reflected the Johnson family’s deep sense of service, education, and community involvement.

The ranch’s original limestone house, built in 1836, the very year the Battle of the Alamo took place. This historic structure served as both family home and headquarters—symbolizing a bridge between the area’s German-settler roots and the Johnsons’ modern ranching era. The Johnsons’ connection to Texas history runs even deeper: the family includes two Alamo Defenders, Jacob Walker,one of the last defenders of the Alamo and Asa Walker, who sacrificed their lives to help shape the spirit of independence that still defines the state today.

Though the final cattle auction took place in 2008, the Johnson family’s influence endures through local landmarks like Johnson Ranch Elementary School, which proudly bears the ranch’s “Lazy J” brand as its logo. More than a cattle operation, Clyde Johnson & Sons Hereford Ranch represents the lasting spirit of Texas ranching—where hard work, heritage, and community come together to leave a legacy that still shapes Bulverde today.