One of the Texas Hill Country’s most spectacular properties is now on the market. Sisterdale Farms, a 310-acre ranch estate that blends contemporary design with the area’s rich German heritage, became available in early September, giving prospective buyers the chance to own a slice of paradise along the Guadalupe River near Boerne.
The working farm and ranch was the former home of Baron Ottomar von Behr, a German who gave Sisterdale its name. A naturalist, meteorologist, and creator of one of the state’s first lending libraries, Behr was a Forty-Eighter, a group of intellectual European emigrants who conversed in Latin and held utopian ideals.
The property includes a restored German homestead.Photo courtesy of West & Swope Ranches
The restored homestead of Behr’s eldest son still sits on the property, but the showpiece is a modern, 11,800-square-foot home designed by acclaimed San Antonio architect Don McDonald. Although mostly known for luxe residential projects, his more public work includes the Cellars and Spring House at the Pearl.
The home includes five bedrooms with ensuite baths, a formal sitting room, a media room, a private gym, and a jaw-dropping chef’s kitchen with a wood-fired pizza oven. In a nod to the land’s former occupant, the blueprint includes two octagonal libraries.
The estate is also a showcase for some of Texas’ most talented craftspeople. The details include hand-carved limestone mantels carved by Fredericksburg artisan Russ Thayer and wrought ironwork from Buda’s Roy Bellows. Although a newer build with contemporary touches like floor-to-ceiling windows, the home nods to the past with seven Rumford fireplaces and an inscription from New England journalist Frederick Law Olmsted’s seminal Journey Through Texas over the oven.
One of the many Rumford fireplaces throughout the home heats a sitting area.Photo courtesy of West & Swope Ranches
The grounds are just as dazzling, not only for the breathtaking Hill Country views. Included in the acreage are hay fields, organic gardens, a 38-foot pool, and stone walls preserved from the 1800s.
West & Swope Ranches, a San Antonio firm specializing in some of Texas’ most iconic recreational, agricultural, and luxury estates, is handling the sale of the property. Interested buyers can check out the full listing online. The list price is available on request.
“[Sisterdale Farms] is more than a property — it’s a living piece of Texas heritage,” says Louie Swope, broker and owner of West and Swope Ranches, in a release. “Its history, architecture, and natural beauty create an opportunity unmatched in the Hill Country.”
