National Register Listing

Michaelis, M.G., Ranch

3600 FM 150 West, Kyle, TX

The M.G. Michaelis Ranch is one of the best, most intact examples of a historic ranch compound still surviving in a rapidly changing Hays County. Accessed by a dirt road from the north side of County Road 150 approximately seven miles west of Kyle, Texas, the building complex and surrounding fields and pastures occupy the original 288-acre ranch parcel purchased and developed by M. G. Michaelis in the late 1890s. Worked by four generations of the Michaelis family since 1898, the parcel contains stellar examples of buildings, structures, objects, and sites typically associated with traditional Central Texas ranches of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The late-Victorian period Queen Anne style house and ranching complex made up of barns, wells, garages, and other agriculture-related outbuildings, lies on the 288-acre tract Captain Fergus Kyle sold to M.G. Michaelis Sr. in 1898. As expected in a working ranch developed over 100 years, many of the individual resources have been altered to accommodate newer agricultural techniques. However, most retain their original function and integrity to such an extent that they portray ranch life and work of the historic period. Perhaps as important, the land use and property layout, including the building complex, pastures, pens, fences, and fields, remain largely unchanged from the turn of the 20th century when the ranch was fully developed. These combined elements -- the buildings and structures together with the built landscape -- preserve a rare artifact of Hays County's ranching heritage that was the cornerstone of its early economy and development. M.G. Michaelis and his descendants contributed significantly to that legacy particularly in breeding champion livestock, first mules and later, cattle. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Michaelis Ranch was one of the largest mule breeders in the country supplying Jacks and Jennets to the U.S. Army and exporting them to foreign countries. Later, the family turned to cattle breeding and gained fame for introducing the French Charolais cattle to the United States. The Michaelis family lives on the ranch and continues to raise champion cattle. Because of its strong ties with the county's ranching heritage, the M.G. Michaelis Ranch is nominated to the National Register under Criteria A, at the local level of significance. Additionally, the buildings and landscape contain all of the major components of a traditional Central Texas ranch, including the pastures, crop fields, houses, barns, pens, and corrals historically associated with ranching, the sum of which vividly conveys the essence of that life and setting.

Despite alterations to individual resources, the M.G. Michaelis Ranch possesses an extraordinary sense of place and retains the integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Together, these resources embody the distinctive and significant characteristics of the historic Central Texas ranch. Thus, the M.G. Michaelis Ranch is nominated to the National Register under Criteria C as a rural historic landscape district at the local level of significance.

The period of significance for the Michaelis Ranch extends to 1955 when several simple sheds, barns, and silos were erected on the property in one of the ranch's last major building campaigns (1951-55), which primarily expanded existing agricultural facilities. These resources were built in response to the rising popularity of the Charolais cattle, a significant development in the history of the ranch. The 1950s buildings and structures are similar in size, scale, use, and materials to historic agricultural buildings and structures on the ranch. Because the majority of properties in the district are greater than 50 years old, Criteria Consideration G is not claimed.

Farming and ranching have formed the basis for Hays County's economy since the Spanish first attempted to establish a colony near present San Marcos in the early 19th century. Plagued by Indian raids, floods, and insufficient resources, the Spanish effort failed and settlement attempts were severely limited in present-day Hays County until Texas gained statehood in 1845. Despite its beautiful hills and vistas, clear springs, and creeks, the region was not promising for settlement. Native Americans still ranged through the area, and neither the predominantly rocky soil in the central and western sections nor the black clay soil of the eastern prairie appeared suitable for extensive cultivation. Prospective settlers trickled into the region during the Mexican War (1846-1848). Their numbers increased after the war when the U.S. government focused its attention on encouraging and protecting settlements in the newly won territory. A line of frontier forts was established through the Texas Hill Country, among them Fort Martin Scott, near Fredericksburg in 1848. Military presence provided greater protection against Indian raids and settlers streamed into the region, including Hays County, where they began raising livestock and attempted farming.

Virtually all of the county's residents in the antebellum period relied on agriculture for their survival. Merchants, businessmen, mill operators and professional people not engaged directly in farming or ranching served those who were. In the era before cotton cultivation dominated the Blackland Prairie; most of the county's farmers lived in the western part of the county where they planted vegetable gardens and forage crops to feed stock. Nearly all raised small numbers of livestock including sheep, goats, swine and cattle. Hays County cattle helped feed Confederate forces during the Civil War but it wasn't until after the war ended in 1865 that the demand for beef in Northern and Eastern markets prompted the Texas cattle industry. Stockmen rounded up herds of loose cattle and drove across the open range to railroads bound for northern and eastern markets. The romantic era of the cowboy and cattle drives lasted fewer than 20 years but left an indelible mark on the American vision of Texas and the West.

As railroads pushed into Texas creating more accessible shipping points and barbed wire began to close the open range in the 1880s, ranching became a more stable agricultural endeavor. Stockmen no longer relied on rounding up free-roaming longhorns but began to fence tracts of grazing land and plant their forage. They began selective breeding of beef and dairy cattle, goats, sheep, and horses, and mules and built specialized barns and pens to accommodate modern ranching practices.

Max Gustav Michaelis was among this new breed of progressive agriculturalists who established successful long-term ranches in Hays County in the late 19th century. Michaelis was born to Hedwig Groos and Theodore Michaelis in July 1864, in Round Top, Texas, when the town's population was less than 200 people. Theodore Michaelis immigrated to the Republic of Texas from the Kingdom of Prussia. A gunsmith by trade, he also established ranching interests in the Republic as early as 1837 (Stovall 1986:222). During the Civil War, Theodore Michaelis fought for the Confederacy and lost an eye at Vicksburg. Accused of killing a federal soldier after the war, he fled to Mexico where he took up cattle ranching with a partner in Chihuahua, north of Durango. During their father's self-imposed exile, Max (M.G.) and his brother Carl were sent to Prussia for their education from 1877-1879. Carl received a degree in pharmacy but M.G. returned to Texas and settled in New Braunfels where he began his career as a livestock trader in the 1880s. There he began breeding quality mules, both Jacks and Jennets, that would become the foundation of his ranching endeavor.

M. G. Michaelis Sr. arrived in New Braunfels, about 30 miles north of San Antonio, shortly after the International and Great Northern (I. & G. N.) railroad completed its track between Austin and San Antonio. The arrival of the railroad altered the course of agriculture and development throughout Texas and Hays County was no exception. When the I. & G. N. began construction on its Austin-San Antonio route through Hays County in 1880, landowners were encouraged to plat new towns along their tracks. The presence of the railroad promised land development and economic opportunities for the railroad companies, landowners, and new businessmen who were attracted to the sites. In 1881, Mr. and Mrs. Fergus Kyle deeded land for a townsite along the I. & G. N. line and the town of Kyle was born. The town became a rail center for local farmers and ranchers to ship their products to market.

Soon after Kyle was platted and the first lots auctioned to hopeful entrepreneurs, M.G. Michaelis moved from New Braunfels, an established German community, to the new town of Kyle. He became a good friend of Capt. Fergus Kyle and Mr. Giescke, both of whom had served with his father, Theodore Michaelis, for the Confederacy. M.G. Michaelis and Giesecke opened a mercantile store in Kyle and in the spring of 1898, he purchased a 288-acre tract of land from Fergus Kyle, about seven miles west of town. According to family lore, Michaelis won the ranch from Kyle in a horseracing bet (Michaelis personal communication, 2000).

Previous owners had made limited improvements to the land before its sale to Michaelis. The first known residents were a family named Young who purchased the property in 1873. They may have built the earliest dwelling near the site of the present house, to the south. Fergus Kyle obtained the tract from the Young family but did not reside there (Michaelis personal communication, 2000). He probably purchased the property as an investment in hopes that the presence of the railroad would increase land prices in the area surrounding his new town. Kyle deeded the tract to Michaelis soon after he bought it, in 1898. Michaelis may have built the core of the present house shortly afterward. It was completely remodeled to its present appearance in 1902 when Michaelis married Anna "Lillie" Louise Huettig in Brenham and brought her to his ranch. The enlarged house was a country showplace. Fashionable Queen Anne ornamentation including multiple gabled wings, an attached gazebo, a projecting bay window and patterned shingles were added to the frame dwelling. A wrap-around porch with Classical Doric columns and a clipped corner entrance enhanced its appearance. The original columns deteriorated and were replaced with metal poles set on rock piers in the 1940s. These, in turn, were replaced with turned porch posts in 1995 (Michaelis personal communication, 2001).

Michaelis spent the next three years building his ranch and what was reportedly the largest barn in Texas. He raised cattle and ran a small dairy operation in the early years of the ranch. But he loved horses and bred matched teams for color, size and action. However, mules were his stock in trade. The Michaelis Ranch was one of the country's largest purveyors of mules and at one time had more Jennets than all other Texas ranches combined. Mules were essential to hauling and freighting industries through World War I and well into the 1920s until gasoline-powered vehicles were widely available. The Michaelis Ranch supplied mules to the U.S. military and mining companies and exported them to mines in South Africa and coffee plantations in Guatemala. Michaelis' mules were so valued that he sold one Jack in Mexico for $5,000 in gold. At the time, land in Hays County sold for $2.50 to $3.00 an acre (Michaelis personal communication, 2000). However, as motorized vehicles became more common in the United States, the demand for mules declined. Michaelis sold most of his mules to South Africa and turned his attention to horses and cattle. M. G. Michaelis was 38 years old when he married and his only son, Max Michaelis Jr., was born three years later, in 1905. His wife's sister, Corrine Huettig, soon came to live on the ranch. Their mother followed in 1912. Born in 1891, Corrine was only 14 years older than her nephew, M.G. Michaelis Jr., and she became his constant companion. The family enjoyed a pleasant lifestyle during a period of relative prosperity in Hays County at the turn of the century. Numerous photographs from the early 20th century depict the family engaged in a variety of recreational activities such as swimming, picnics, and camping.

In addition to his Hays County ranch, Michaelis purchased other nearby properties and expanded his local ranch holdings. At the same time, he maintained several businesses in Kyle. Throughout the 1910s and early 1920s, Michaelis improved his stock and property, establishing a family ranching legacy in Hays County that continues to the present. Many of the historic barns, pens, sheds and infrastructure, including fences and walls, were originally built during this period. In addition to his ranching activities, Max Michaelis Sr. collected old buggies and saddles that he stored in his big barn. In the mid-1930s, the enormous barn caught fire and burned to the ground, killing dozens of mules and horses. The fire was so large, it was seen from the town of Kyle, about seven miles to the east. The volunteer fire department arrived in time to protect the house and Michaelis donated land he owned across from the Kyle City Hall for a fire station in gratitude (Strom in Stovall, et. al., 1986:239). Loss of the barn and its contents, including the collection of antique buggies, is said to have broken his heart. Michaelis never rebuilt the huge barn but instead erected several smaller barns, sheds, and pens to serve a variety of related purposes. Many of the existing ranch features date from this post-fire period. Despite the tragedy, Michaelis Sr. continued to breed and show livestock at his ranch Kyle Ranch (Michaelis personal communication, 2000).

M.G. Michaelis Jr. grew up on the ranch and graduated from Kyle High School. Like all ranch and farm children, he assisted with the numerous chores and developed skills necessary for the successful operation of the ranch. He also worked on ranches in Mexico where his grandfather had established ties during his sojourn there after the Civil War. In 1925, Hays County experienced a terrible drought and Michaelis spent that summer working for David McKeller on his ranch in northern Mexico near Eagle Pass. At the age of 19, M. G. Michaelis Jr. drove a herd of shorthorns from Mexico to the United States where he traded them to local cattlemen. Within five years he was branding his herds of shorthorns and Herefords. He partnered with the Walker family of Luling and his grandfather helped him buy the El Fortin and Carrizalejo ranches in Mexico. When he married in 1932, the partners split the farms and Michaelis kept El Fortin (Michaelis personal communication, 2000).

M.G. Michaelis Jr. spent much of his time in Mexico during the 1920s and 1930s. Like his father, his interests lay in breeding champion stock. He was living in Mexico when he received a pair of Charolais bulls from his friend Mexican General Acosta, in 1934. Acosta had acquired the French bulls from General Perez Trevino, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock in Mexico. Michaelis sent them to his father at the Kyle ranch for experimental crossbreeding with purebred Shorthorns and Herefords. This importation is thought to be to be the first time the Charolais bloodline was introduced into the United States. Ultimately, the Michaelis Ranch achieved fame in cattle breeding circles for its success with the Charolais.

<h6>Charolais Cattle</h6>The Charolais cattle as a distinct breed appeared as early as 878 A.D. in the old provinces of Charolles and Nievre, in west-central to southeastern France. They probably developed from local herds and by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they were a favorite in French markets, especially at Lyon and Villefranche. Charolais cattle are physically distinguished by their white color and long bodies. Selective breeding yielded cattle suited for draft, milk and meat purposes. Bred for size, muscling, and utility, the French Charolais are considered less refined in appearance than some other breeds, notably those in the British Isles (Briggs 1980).

Despite their long heritage in France and the European continent, Charolais were not introduced in the Western Hemisphere until the early 20th century. Jean Pugibet, a young Mexican industrialist of French ancestry, saw Charolais cattle while he served as a volunteer with the French army. Impressed by their appearance and productivity, he brought some of the French cattle to his ranch in Mexico after the war. In 1930, he arranged for a shipment of two bulls and 10 heifers to Mexico and increased his total to 37-eight bulls and 29 cows - in two later shipments in 1931 and 1937. Pugibet died shortly after the last shipment and no further imports were attempted. Until the mid-1960s, all of the Charolais in Mexico, the United States and Canada, including the Michaelis' stock, were descendants of this initial Pugibet herd.
The first Charolais to come into the United States from Mexico are believed to be the two purebred bulls, Blanco and Plato, given to M. G. Michaelis Jr. by his friend General Miguel Acosta in 1934. Two years later, in 1936, another pair of bulls was purchased from Pugibet and imported by the King Ranch in Texas. Max Michaelis Sr. bought another pair of bulls for the ranch near Kyle in 1941 and his son purchased the remaining Pugibet herd of purebred domestic Charolais for his Mexico ranch in 1955.

It has been said that no other breed has impacted the North American beef industry so significantly as the introduction of Charolais cattle. The Charolais came into widespread use in the United States cattle industry at a time when producers sought larger framed, heavier cattle than the traditional British breeds. Cows performed well under a variety of environmental conditions; they thrived in warm weather and tolerated moderate cold conditions, and raised heavy calves. Bulls developed a well-deserved reputation for improving smaller, less rugged herds by "grading up" (Briggs 1980: n.p.). Max Michaelis Sr. enthusiastically raised Charolais cattle for breeding stock on his Kyle Ranch until his death on April 11, 1950. His herd remains widely known and respected in the field today.

When Max Michaelis, Sr. died, two-thirds of the ranch passed to his son and the remaining third to "Aunt Corinne" Huettig, who assumed control of the ranch until 1955. Corinne Huettig proved to be an astute businesswoman and it is a testament to her talent and skill that she operated the ranch with only one man to help her until she relinquished the job to her nephew Max Michaelis Jr. in 1955. She came to own a third of the Michaelis cattle. Corinne Huettig died in 1963 and was followed by her sister, Lillie Michaelis, in 1967 (Michaelis personal communication, 2000).

After his father died in 1950, M. G. Michaelis Jr. purchased the Pugibet herd of purebred domestic Charolais from the original French importers. He launched an ambitious building program that included the construction of new barns, sheds and other support facilities and the rebuilding of fences and corrals. Max Michaelis Jr. developed a strong herd of domestic Charolais that are now well-known around the world. He widely promoted the breed and his efforts were rewarded. The Charolais were hailed as a superior breed of cattle and their popularity soared in the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s.

Between 1955 and 1970-71, the Charolais market boomed. Eight men worked on the ranch, raising and showing the cattle. Numerous buildings and structures, including the large concrete-block show barn, were added to the ranch complex when the Charolais surged in popularity. In 1976, Max Michaelis Jr. owned about 700 head of cattle. Now the ranch has reduced its herd to about 150 breeding stock. The Michaelis Ranch has never raised cattle for beef- only as seed stock and the family maintains that tradition to the present. Max Michaelis Jr. died in 1976 but his son Maximo Michaelis III, his wife Sharon, and their two sons Max Michaelis IV and Carl Lawrence Michaelis live in the family home and continue to work the ranch as its founder M.G. Michaelis Sr. when he acquired the property more than 100 years ago.

<h6>Summary</h6>Typical of working agricultural sites, the Michaelis Ranch contains a mix of historic and non-historic buildings and structures. Historic built features throughout the ranch reflect the evolution and changing fortunes of livestock breeding and ranching in Central Texas. At the heart of the ranch lies the ca. 1898 Queen Anne-styled residence that has sheltered four generations of ranchers in Hays County. Enlarged and completely remodeled from an earlier, more modest dwelling, the elegant ranch house represents Hays County's transition from a frontier economy of scattered settlements and subsistence farmers to one based on cash crops and progressive agriculture at the turn of the 20th century.

Furthermore, it illustrates the relative prosperity and success of farming and ranching in the Kyle area during that period. Historic resources closely associated with the house include a cistern and well, a vegetable garden, grapevines for jams and wine, an orchard and flower gardens within a fenced yard built to keep ranging cattle at bay. An elongated historic period guesthouse and attached auto garage lie just outside the fence to the west. Although a small part of the porch was enclosed as a sunroom in the 1950s, it is set back from the primary façade and the porch maintains its "wrap-around" effect. Several small additions to the rear of the house are not visible and may, in fact, date to the historic period. One of the more noteworthy changes occurred when the original Doric columns rotted and were replaced with round metal poles (lally poles) in the 1940s. In turn, more sympathetic Victorian period porch posts replaced the lally poles about 1995 (Michaelis personal communication, 2001). Although the replacement of the Classical columns is unfortunate, the turned posts appear in keeping with the other Victorian-era ornamentation on the house such as patterned shingles, decorative gable vents and a bargeboard, wrap-around porch and gazebo. Minor alterations detract little from the house's historic character and are mitigated by its impressive design, ornamentation, and original materials. The Michaelis Ranch house is an outstanding, unusually well-detailed example of the Queen Anne style in a rural setting and retains its 1902 appearance and historic architectural integrity to a remarkable degree.

Agricultural resources on the Michaelis Ranch include typical, yet classic examples of utilitarian ranch architecture dating from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. Most of the barns, animal sheds and corrals built in the historic period lie clustered in an organized complex to the west of the main house. One of the most interesting properties associated with the ranch's early success is a frame structure equipped with scales used for weighing mules. Outbuildings include barns, sheds, corrals (corrales de llena), and structures common to Hays County ranches and farms from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. Although there are many older properties among the outbuildings, many have been remodeled to suit more modern farming or ranching methods. Coded maps with a legend showing historic names and current use of the features are included in the nomination.

The buildings, fields, pasture, and landscape of M. G. Michaelis Ranch reflect the historic evolution of ranching traditions in Hays County to an exceptional degree. It is a tradition that is fast fading from the rural landscape. Family ranches once stretched across most of the county west of IH-35. The Alexander, Bleakly, Cowan, Farris, Freeman, Fulton, Garnett, Gregg, Halifax, Helm, Hoskins, Kelly, Keyes, Kuykendall, Martin, Nagel, Newberry, Phillips, Rutherford, Sawyer, Scrutchin, Spillar, Storm, Whited, Williams and Winn spreads once typified the county's historic ranching traditions. Today, many of these ranches are being sold to developers for residential subdivisions as Austin's booming population pushes demand for housing into the surrounding counties.

In the face of this encroaching development, the Michaelis Ranch stands as one of the country's oldest surviving family-owned ranch tracts still in agriculture. The Michaelis family, including the youngest generation, is committed to maintaining their historic ranch properties and traditions. The Michaelis Ranch is an outstanding example of a rural ranch complex that embodies the agricultural history of Hays County and is nominated to the National Register under Criterion A for its historic associations with that heritage. It is also nominated under Criterion C as an outstanding example of a historic ranch complex.

<h6>Period of Significance</h6>The period of significance for the Michaelis Ranch extends to 1955 when several simple sheds, barns, and silos were erected on the property in one of the last major building campaigns. These resources were built in response to the rising popularity of the Charolais cattle, a significant development in the history of the ranch. The 1955 buildings and structures are similar in size, scale, use and materials to historic agricultural buildings and structures on the ranch. Like several earlier barns and sheds, on-site materials such as stone and cedar posts were used in their construction. Historic resources at the Michaelis Ranch can be grouped according to several major building campaigns. In the period 1890- 1902, the ranch was established and a house, well, scales, and enormous barn were built. Fields, fences, and pathways were defined. Rock walls constructed of stone cleared from the pastures marked boundaries between pastures and adjacent properties. Infrastructure and patterns were established during this initial phase and subsequent construction during the historic period stemmed largely from the need to replace worn or damaged facilities.

Little new construction was added until after 1935 when fire destroyed the barn and adjacent sheds. Exceptions were the ca. 1920 camp house, which was probably built to house tenants or ranch workers, and the installation of a gasoline pump reflecting the shift from animal power to motorized vehicles. New barns and sheds built ca. 1935 employed low stone walls with pole-supported metal roofs and open sides. The 1951-1955 building campaign primarily expanded existing agricultural facilities. All of the buildings constructed during that period are partially open-frame or cedar post-supported structures including sheds, barns, and vehicle garages. When FM 150 was paved in 1952, the Michaelis family built rock piers and a cattle guard at the entrance to the highway. Fences and roadways were repaired throughout the ranch during this period. A sign erected by the Charolais association completed the project.

No further construction projects were undertaken until the 1960s when a cottage, veterinary room, large barn, bullpens and show barn were added to the building complex. These later resources are identified with the emergence of the ranch as a major venue for on-site livestock shows and auctions. Predominant among this newer construction is the show barn which is a marked departure from the historic facilities in size, scale, materials and use. The concrete block building features a low-pitched roof, solid walls and few windows, unlike the earlier open or partially open barns and sheds. It is much larger than the older barns and sheds. Barns, sheds, fences and other resources built during this period are largely constructed of metal, cinder block, milled lumber and asbestos shingle. There is a distinct difference in the type, materials and use of resources built in 1955 and those constructed in the 1960s. Because resources built through 1955 are closely associated with the historic ranching activities in use and appearance and are distinguished from those built in the 1960s, they are contributing elements of the M. G. Michaelis Ranch.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2003.